Doll House Renovations

After years of a mid-business district that was full of dilapidated, vacant buildings, with largely undesirable businesses, this project was designed to reinvent the area and reintroduce small businesses. A grant from Duke Energy Foundation was used to help with architecture and engineering pre-development work. This project leveraged historic tax credits and has since become catalytic for the community. The Project was completed in 2014 and brought 2 residential units and the commercial space was renovated which is currently home to Tortilleria Garcia. 

Tortilleria Garcia is the lifelong dream of Omar Garcia.  As a child, Omar lived in Michoacan, Mexico on a farm where his family grew corn.  Following the harvest, the Garcia family cooked and ground the corn to make masa, the dough used to make tortillas.  Omar’s grandmother Enriqueta, and his mother Dolores, taught Omar the recipes that are used here at the Tortilleria.  Fresh, handmade and authentic is a point of pride. It has become a staple of the College Hill community and is loved by locals and others all over the city. This project had a huge impact on the community, aiding in the removal of blight in the business district and creating new jobs in the area.