What’s going in the new Fordham Market?

If this street corner could talk, it might chatter about a fire that ripped through a home on the block in the early 19th century and opine about the Beaufort families who sold hardware here for more than a century.

The Fordham building, a two-story brick building at Carteret and Bay streets in downtown Beaufort, begins its next life this month after an extensive renovation. Lowcountry Kitchen and Design will move in starting Feb. 15.

The business will include model kitchens and appliances and will cater to homebuilders, contractors and homeowners wanting to renovate their kitchens. The 2,800 square-foot space will face the Carteret Street side of the building.

“We reinstalled the original window openings and added windows along Carteret, which will really make it such a great, unique space there on the corner and a real iconic-type building for Beaufort,” said Graham Trask, who owns the building with his father, George.

Another 3,000 square feet on the bottom floor remains vacant facing Bay Street. Trask said he is courting restaurants to fill the space.

Some cosmetic improvements are still being finished on the outside of the building. On the inside, a storefront with windows was created along Carteret Street, the pine floors upstairs were exposed to the downstairs, a new staircase and elevator shaft were installed and plaster was removed to reveal original brick, said Trask, who worked with Beaufort Design Build on the renovation.

The upstairs has been cleared and could be used as offices or apartments, he said.

Owners plan to keep the Fordham name on the building, but the business model changed from its most recent use as a multi-tenant store called Fordham Market.

Duncan Fordham sold the building last year after his family had run businesses in the building for 70 years — first as a hardware store and the past dozen years as a market offering various wares from artists and merchants.

A look at Fordham Market, May 2016

This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 12:22 PM with the headline "What’s going in the new Fordham Market?."