Just Listed: $749,900
Erin Mathern is a St. Paul real estate attorney with a background in residential development. These days, she's focused on law and an occasional project for herself. Her latest is am 1893 livery on a narrow, historic coblestone street near the St. Paul Cathedral. The building had been used as a place where locals could store their carriages and horses until about 1904 and until then it was used only for storage, but never as a house
The sat vacant for decades while its architect-owner created plans for an eventaul transformation. That didn't until Mathern bought the building that owner a little more than a year ago and has since transformed it into a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with 4,000 square feet. Where she could, she repurposed elements of the livery into the living space, including sliding doors, hinges, tracks and a big hoist that was used to lift the carriages from the first floor to an upper-level loft. The goal of the project, she said was to be true to the original character of the building, but make it a "wonderful modern home," she said.
Though the building is from the Victorian era and is surrounded by magnificent Victorian-style mansions and carriage houses, this building is more reminiscent of the Shingle style, which tended toward the simpler details found in houses and buildings popular in New England and pre-dated the Arts and Crafts movement.
"This really is one-of-a-kind," she said. "It's glorious to drive down Summit Avenue to go home, and it's a wonderful treat to drive down Maiden Lane - the quietest enclave in the city. It is lovely."
Mathern never planned to do the renovation as a flip, but that's almost what happened. After the top-to-bottom renovation and a major design assist from her sister, Allison Mathern, she moved in and later decided to test the market by listing it. Within a couple weeks she had an offer in hand and house was taken off the market on Feb. 1. Because it hasn't closed yet, the sale price isn't public.
Mathern isn't sure what her next project will be, but she knows there will be one. "I won't find this again," she said. "But there are lots of wonderful Victorian buildings in Summit Hill where I'd love to live."
