The American Can building in Mid-City has new retail space and a new look

Mid-City’s American Can Company (3700 Orleans Avenue) has entered a new phase in its 100-year history. A recently completed renovation and expansion project brought new retail space and a new look to the former can factory. Eskew+Dumez+Ripple designed the complex’s new signage, lighting, walkways, and plate glass windows, while Malin Construction added 1,000 square feet of retail space.

“We believe this converted and repositioned space will improve visibility and accessibility to the retail front, enhancing its standing among retailers and better serving our clients,” said Christopher Edwards, managing director of Audubon Communities, the Atlanta-based firm that completed the expansion.

The American Can Company factory ceased operation in 1988, according to Gambit Weekly. It sat vacant for years until the mid-1990s, when it was developed by Pres Kabacoff and and Edward Boettner of Historic Restoration Inc. Anchored by ground-level retail space, the apartment building opened in 2001. As a stipulation of its tax-exempt bond funding, 20 percent of American Can Company’s units were designated for for low- to moderate-income tenants for the first 15 years of its operation. In 2016, that requirement expired, and dozens of low-income tenants were evicted.

Revelator Coffee, Pearl Wine Company, Swiss Confectionery, and Keesler Federal Credit Union are among the development’s retailers. The complex features 22,000 square feet of retail space, which is 92 percent leased, and 268 luxury loft apartments.