Walking north on Hamilton, you could easily pass Springlawn and dismiss the corner building as yet another old structure in Northside. But you couldn’t be more wrong. Inside the property’s original 1904 brick exterior, architect Tim Jeckering completely reimagined and redesigned the former Hogan’s Meat Market into a striking, contemporary residence. Anyone living in the neighborhood for more than five years will remember the vinyl-clad, graffiti-covered eyesore, which was surrounded by a six-foot-high chain link fence. “I was embarrassed to turn onto my street,” says Jeckering, who lives one block away and readily admits he bought the building to serve his own interests. “I really didn’t want a pony keg or a bar there,” he says. When the property came up for sale in 2011, he bought it and began renovation later that year. (Now it’s home to a buyer who snapped it up shortly after it went on the market.)
Jeckering, who established his eponymous firm 34 years ago, left in place (decoratively) the shop’s original front door, while re-orienting the entrance to Springlawn, which visitors now approach through a New Orleans–style sunken courtyard, flanked by a privacy hedge of quick-growing winter honeysuckle. He maximized light and airflow, and the courtyard extends the warm-weather living space. Insulated, frosted picture windows facing Hamilton evoke the home’s storefront roots while maintaining privacy and reducing sound. In the first floor full bathroom, Jeckering salvaged the shop’s deli counter and repurposed it as a sink vanity.
The three-bedroom space also features a second-floor master with a rooftop patio, and an efficient use of space, combined with high ceilings, gives the interior its expansive feel. Jeckering notes that corner houses are always more prominent. By buying the building outright, he was able to restore its rightful neighborhood stature, while allowing him to be his own client and play with the space as he wished. “It’s a silk purse transformation,” he says.
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