Helen Black, who moved into 39 Ten Broeck Place just before the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999, considers the rehabilitation of her house part of a larger effort to save Albany’s urban neighborhoods. She had bought the building—the only one of an 1850s row on Ten Broeck Place still standing—some months before. Its prior owner had stabilized the building’s envelope but gutted the interior. So with the help of architects David Hopper and Larry Fesser, Al Harris, Matt Miller, and Robin Pullan replaced an undersized floor beam to allow for the open floor plan Helen had dreamed of when she first saw the building shell.

Though one would never guess by looking at the house’s front and side facades, which maintain historic details and appearance, the interior incorporates many aspects of contemporary loft-style design that extend to the two-story rear outdoor deck overlooking the garden, the next work-in-progress at 39 Ten Broeck Place.