Lorton Prison transformation into Liberty Apartments – Photo from The Alexander Company

From Virginia and CBS News comes the story of an old prison complex turned into gorgeous apartments that sold out within a month of opening.

The Lorton Reformatory was opened at the dawn of the 20th century during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Built with the intention that prisoners wouldn’t feel they were incarcerated, it suffered from a checkered operating history.

Prison transformation into Liberty Apartments – Photo from The Alexander Company

Fairfax County spent $4 million to buy the 2,343-acre prison site back in 2002, just a year after it was closed down. Real-estate developer The Alexander Company came on the county project in 2008 with the goal of turning it into apartments.

Now known as ‘Liberty’ Crest Apartments, they opened in 2017 after $64 million in breathtaking renovations worthy of a prime-time HGC television show.

“Everyone’s very proud of what we did here, and we are very pleased with the results,” said David Vos, development project manager with The Alexander Company of Wisconsin which specializes in adaptive reuse projects like old schools and factories.

Totaling 165 units, 44 are set aside for those making less than 50% of the median household income for the county. 84 are one-bedroom units, and 81 are two-bedroom, with rent ranging from $1,370 to $2,700 a month.

Rather than a giant square or series of squares filled with squares containing prisoners shut up into tiny squares arranged in square blocks—in other words, instead of a normal correctional facility that’s dark and thick with minimal lighting, the Lorton Reformatory was built of handsome Virginia clay bricks with plenty of light (hence the ‘reform’ part of reformatory.’)

Pool in Liberty Apartments – Photo from The Alexander Company

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In fact, in the average two-bedroom unit, every room has a window, though some are located rather high up the walls for obvious reasons.

That being the case, it provided a better atmospheric backdrop for a place to build a home. Even still, and even considering the quantity of amenities, such as shopping, a pool, and green space, it seems difficult to imagine any realtor in the country being 100% sure that renters would rush to sign a lease on what was a prison cell that had historically seen mistreatment and overcrowding of prisoners.

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But that’s exactly what happened, and they’ve remained at capacity ever since. The campus also includes a dentist’s office, restaurants, gym, yoga studio, and community century, and a preschool.

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