Newport held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week at 402 East 9th Street to celebrate another Historic Preservation Adaptive Re-Use Project.
The building has been converted to four market-rate apartments.
Luther Combs, Jr., along with his sisters: Della and Debbie, have been rehabbing properties that had been a part of their father’s rental portfolio. Their father, Luther Combs, Sr. passed on June 4, 2021, at the age of 90.
Their most recent project is 402 East 9th Street, which years ago housed a grocery store on the first floor with apartments on the upper floors. The front part of the first floor has been converted to an enclosed staircase to access the upper floor apartments. The new wood steps were repurposed joists that were removed during the extensive rehab project.
The Combs family, along with their construction crew, worked closely with Newport’s Historic Preservation and Code Enforcement departments to maintain and showcase historic features.