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Architecture
The DIGGS is a landmark adaptive reuse project in Sacramento, California, transforming a long-vacant industrial building into a vibrant mixed-use residential destination. Anchoring the western end of the R Street Corridor at 3rd Street, the project will introduce 132 apartments alongside a restaurant, coffee shop, office space, and mini-storage facility, creating a dynamic new neighborhood presence while preserving an important piece of Sacramento’s industrial history.
For much of the 20th century, the building served as the headquarters and distribution center for the Thompson Diggs hardware company. With the building now vacant, the project presented an opportunity to breathe new life into the structure while retaining the character and authenticity of its concrete industrial architecture.
One of the primary challenges inherent in converting office and warehouse buildings to residential use is their deep floorplates, which are typically much deeper than conventional residential buildings. Rather than viewing this condition as a limitation, the design team embraced the building’s unique proportions and substantial structure, using its depth and character to create a diverse collection of thoughtfully programmed resident amenities and shared spaces.
The result is a distinctive mixed-use community that celebrates the building’s industrial heritage while introducing a new residential and commercial energy to the R Street Corridor. More broadly, the project demonstrates the potential of creative adaptive reuse to transform underutilized buildings, preserve Sacramento’s architectural history, and inspire innovative approaches to revitalizing similar properties throughout the city and region.
