New owners bringing lofty ideas to old TWI Building in downtown Terre Haute

The Lofts of Haute Maison are now under construction as a 10-unit apartment complex at 120 S. Seventh St. in the building commonly known as the TWI Building.

Owners Al Ruckriegel and David Adams told the Tribune-Star on Thursday that they are excited about the project, which is located close to their home base in the Ohio Building.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring a first-class residential opportunity to downtown,” they said in a statement.

The units will have high-end finishes, some balconies, fireplaces — and two third-floor units will have roof-top terraces. Other amenities include heated tile floors, secure private parking under roof, custom bathrooms and chef-inspired kitchens.

Demolition and cleanup have been going on this week, and an architect is now working on plans. An elevator will be installed, and the main entrance of the building will be from the south side. However, two units on the first level will be accessed off of Seventh Street through the building’s existing front steps.

The property also has room for green space, which will be a bonus for pet owners.

Ruckreigel said the apartment interiors will be contemporary, with open ductwork and other loft features, unlike the custom features inside the Ohio Building. The duo bought the Ohio Building in 2003, completing its renovation and moving in during 2005.

Ruckreigel and Adams purchased the former TWI Building from the CANDLES Holocaust Museum, which had purchased the building in February 2015. Kiel Majewski, executive director of CANDLES, told the Tribune-Star on Thursday that the museum still plans to expand, but is considering options other than the South Seventh Street building.

Before the CANDLES purchase, the building had been owned by Radio City Lofts LLC, a Bloomington-based group of investors who purchased it in 2010 and planned to transform the vacant building into a trendy residential apartment building. Before that, the building had been rented out for artist studios.

The building has a rich history, according to stories published in the Tribune-Star. It was constructed in the early 1900s by Citizens Independent Telephone Co., which owned it for about 30 years.

During the Great Depression, the building housed the Works Progress Administration, the Harrison Township Assessor’s office and also the Young Men’s Christian Association. During World War II, it was home to the Civilian Protection Corps and the Vigo County Office of Civilian Defense. It also housed officials in charge of wartime “price administration.”

A few years after the war, WTHI Radio started operations in the building, then known commonly as the Citizens Independent Telephone building. The radio station remained there until moving to Ohio Street in 1954, when WTHI-TV started broadcasting.

After WTHI Radio, the old building had a variety of tenants in the 1950s, including the Terre Haute Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Arthur Murray School of Dance. It then sat vacant in the early 1960s until Vigo County moved several of its offices into the structure, making 120 S. Seventh an early “Vigo County Annex.”

The building remained the county annex building, housing the Health Department, Air Pollution Control and other offices, until the early 1980s. TWI Inc., an industrial consulting firm, appeared in the building in the early 1980s. Eventually, the building, which for several years mainly housed Hane Industrial Consultants, became known as the TWI Building.

Adams said that a website has already been established to inform the public about the project and apartment rental opportunities. The website will be updated with photos during the construction process, he said.

Unit rental prices have not been set, Ruckreigel said, but will be posted on the website when they are available.