By Jenna Oden

Downtown Troy is growing, and when Casey Browder and her husband Jason saw the need for living spaces. they decided to make it happen themselves.

“So we decided to buy the property (above Posh & P) and want the Square to grow more,” Browder said. “We were already looking for places to help the Square grow and bring more businesses, so it really worked out.”

Hidden above the building are 10 rooms that Browder plans to turn into five or six lofts depending on how many walls she can take down.

“People love living in the downtown area,” Browder said. “We saw a need for more and there was a space upstairs that we knew needed to be used for that. It has not been used since the 70s, so we saw that need and then started thinking about loft apartments.”

The couple is in the process of arranging architects to come out and look at the space while also looking at other lofts to decide on a style.

“We have got to set up a plan first,” Browder said. “Right now we are focusing on renovations and moving an existing business into the space behind Posh & P. This will be great for downtown and we are looking forward to getting started on it all.”

From figuring out layout, colors and style, Browder said that what she looks forward to the most is all the small details they get to put into the loft.

“My passion is decorating things like this,” she said. “Like finding the perfect countertop or picking out cabinets and shelving. It is all the little details of picking out everything that I am excited to start doing. We get to use all the original flooring, which is great because it means we can incorporate original with new.”

Browder is excited to make the apartments special for a variety of people.

“We have done our research and will look at other ones,” Browder said. “But we are gonna make it tasteful and stylish for other people to enjoy living in.”

The second floor is filled old antiques, tables and perishables left behind from an old drug store, but Browder is turning left-behinds into her treasure.

“There really is so much stuff,” Browder said. “But there is so much that we are going to reuse, and we are even bringing an antique dealer from Dothan in to see if there is anything valuable to sell too.”

In addition to long-term rental spaces, Browder said she plans for some of the rooms to be short-term rentals.

“Depending on how many lofts we can get up there we plan on splitting it almost 50/50 on apartments and ‘Airbnb’s,” Browder said. “If one does better than the other, we will adjust.”

Depending on architecture and design, new tenants or visitors will have a view of the square in approximately four to five years, according to Browder.