City officials gave a tour last week of the Uptown building rehabbed by Racine's Redevelopment Authority.The building at 1526 Washington Ave. was gutted and remodeled into usable space, though it's still lacking bathrooms, plumbing, electrical conduits and heating ducts. The idea was to convert the tattered 4,600-square-foot building into a blank canvas for someone to move into and design how they'd like.
The interior is impressive. The first and second stories feature huge street front windows and wide open spaces.
The building is on the market for $400,000, or $200,000 for the first or second floor. One buyer out of Chicago is interested in the space, though they need to sell their building first, which is no guarantee in the current market. The RDA bought the building in 2007 for $128,000.The building cost about $604,000 to renovate and the project's total cost was about $800,000.
The city is now preparing to market the property. The hope is still to attract an artist or artists to the building as part of the "Create Uptown" district started by former Mayor Gary Becker.
Mayor John Dickert said Friday he was open to bringing in any type of business to Uptown, adding he was more interested in jobs than artists.
Here's a few more pictures from the tour:
City Development Director Brian O'Connell talks about the building.
Jody Karls looks out the window. He's standing next to John Crimmings, chair of the RDA. 
It's all yours for $200,000.
