'When we moved here, there was almost no one living here,' says Mr. Scheman. 'You could walk around at night and not see a single person. There was no development going on, it was a very close knit group of people,' he says. The neighborhood was a high school and college hangout for him, while Ms. Chanler knew about the neighborhood because it was close to City Hall, where her mother used to work.

The couple were drawn to the cast-iron building with 'high ceilings and crescent columns' says Ms. Chanler. They moved in with their second child on the way. The apartment was previously owned by a bachelor, they say, and was not very built out. 'The kitchen was appliances plugged into outlets,' says Ms. Chanler.

They spent five months working on the apartment, adding bedrooms and a bathroom, 'creating a more communal living space,' says Ms. Chanler. 'Our intention was to build it out but not lose the integrity of the loft,' she says. Ms. Chanler is a psychoanalyst in private practice, and Mr. Scheman owns three hardware and paint stores in the city. Being in this 92-year-old family business helped accelerate the building process, he says.

Here, a detail of the tin ceiling and cast iron column in the apartment. The couple have two daughters, aged 14 and 17 years old, who will be attending a specialized school in the northern Bronx. They are hoping to rent the apartment in order to move closer to the school, which will 'shorten the commute for them and [give them] a new experience,' says Ms. Chanler.

During their renovation, the couple added a 10-foot long island in the kitchen with Italian stone counter tops, new lighting and wooden cabinets. 'The kitchen has become the nucleus of the loft,' says Ms. Chanler.

Here, the dining room. The couple added a screen made out of cherry wood and plexi-glass that conceals a stairway leading up to a mezzanine space. The apartment's footprint is about 2,600 square feet with the mezzanine providing an additional 450 square feet.

Bedrooms were added to the back of the loft, and the master bedroom is pictured. 'We wanted to maintain the integrity of the loft space, yet allow for privacy in the rooms,' says Ms. Chanler.

Here, the master bathroom. which is currently being renovated. The wall tiles will be replaced and a new vanity, towel bars and fixtures are being added.

One of the home's three bedrooms is pictured. 'One of the reasons I think neither of us wanted to live in the Upper West or Upper East Side was we wanted that feeling of big open space, which is what Tribeca was at the time,' says Mr. Scheman. 'When our kids were little, they would ride their bikes around the apartment and shimmy up the column. It was like a playground.' The couple once hosted 100 people in the apartment for Mr. Scheman's 40th birthday, he says. 'It was important to us to have a castle for ourselves.'

The loft has two full bathrooms and one half bath. The couple feel the home would suit a family with young children or someone visiting Manhattan, particularly an artist who would enjoy the 'vibe and aesthetics' of the neighborhood, says Mr. Scheman.

The full floor loft has its own key locked elevator. The couple chose a 'contemporary, minimalist' design for the apartment with 'a palate of earthy tones,' says Ms. Chanler, to 'induce a sort-of zen-like quality when you step in from the hustle and bustle of the city,' she says.

Here, the mezzanine space which has a den, office space and play area. The property was listed as an unfurnished rental for $17,000 a month at the beginning of May with Paddington Matz and Casey Bickley of Town Residential