The Granary, Morgan Hill, California

Located on a long, narrow site, sandwiched between the railroad tracks and an un-finished section of Downtown, the old Isaacson Granary was the most prominent reminder of this area’s once preeminent agri-business. WMA chose to preserve this piece of the City’s agricultural past, while developing a “gateway” project at the northeast entry to the Downtown. We took the original building, responded to it and developed it into an integrated sustainable structure while adhering to a very limited budget of $2 million dollars.

The goals achieved by designing an adaptive re-use of the existing building while retaining the Granary’s form, structure and foundation, have been immense and in 2007 the Granary received LEED Gold Certification. The once drafty, dark industrial building has become a beacon of green design and once again a thriving part of the community.

The Granary not only houses WMA’s main office but several other businesses as well: Odeum Restaurant, Morgan Hill Times, Golden Eagle Mortgage Group, Publishing Power, Inc., Mark Grisdale-LPL Financial, SMP Tech, Inc., ACTechnical, Gloss Beauty Lounge and The Running Shop and Hops. The property also includes an on-site garden and small orchard, a nod to the agrarian heart of Morgan Hill.