“ The building had been vacant for seven years and there were pigeons nesting in it ,” Miles said . “ While located in the middle of the Redevelopment Agency ( RDA ) area , it was on Depot Street . The City of Morgan Hill was focused on development projects along Monterey Road , but we prevailed .
This was around the time of San Francisco ’ s successful redevelopment of the Ferry Building , which , Miles said , was encouraging given some of its similar design challenges . “ We were also intrigued by the possibilities of designing and building to new standards established by LEED , or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design .”
The original Granary circa 1940
In 2002 , Weston and Miles noticed that the historic Granary property was for sale .
“ There were no takers ,” Miles said , “ because the building would have been expensive to demolish and remove . We didn ’ t want the building to be destroyed , given its significance to local agricultural heritage ,” Weston said .
The Granary represents local ranching history . Supplying grain was vital to the operation of all the ranches in the area . The grain was ferried from one part of the building to another . It flowed through a giant hopper that filtered and dumped the grain into delivery trucks underneath . The trucks had to be weighed on a scale before and after being filled with grain .
As Weston describes it , when the Granary opened in 1940 , it ran 24 hours a day , 7 days a week . Red trucks labeled ‘ Make my Milk ’ rolled through the streets , covering the downtown with dust . The workers would scurry along high catwalks lit up at night . Sunsweet was still operating its fruit processing plant just down the street , creating an industrial corner , just off the main drag
Buying the Granary , Going Green
Weston and Miles had a promising conversation with the owner , Bob Isaacson , who was ready to sell the Granary .
They earned LEED points by recycling existing materials on the site , incorporating natural light , installing environmentally friendly insulation , and other green building techniques , Miles said .
“ First we had to deal with the pigeons . Then there was repair of cracks in the concrete slab floors , most likely caused by the 1984 earthquake .”
They also collaborated with other developers and St . Catherine ’ s Church to establish a day worker center using portables from Gilroy Unified School District .
The Granary circa 2003
“ Then we discovered there were deep pits underneath the silos inside the Granary ,” Weston said . “ You can imagine what was lurking down there , including black widow spiders . We filled in the pits with the demoed concrete . A win-win solution .”
For the interior design , they wanted to create welcoming spaces for small business startups , Miles said . “ To us , it was about architecture creating a sense of community — often referred to as placemaking .”
They retained the Granary ’ s structure , reflecting the agricultural heritage of the area , while incorporating elements of horticultural heritage by planting stone fruit trees .
The Granary circa 2003
“ I studied pruning techniques , but in the five years I did the pruning , the old-time local farmers and orchardists constantly stopped by to counsel me on proper pruning , and I learned ,” Weston said . ( Continued ...)
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