Historic buildings come with a unique set of rewards and challenges. Rehabilitating a historic building is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and you can count on surprises, but the end product is worth it! Check out a few of our favorite projects.
Old Snell Hall, Postdam, St. Lawrence County, New York
In December, 2022 the rehabilitation of Old Snell Hall in upstate New York was one of nine projects in New York to receive a statewide historic presservation award. From the state press release: Old Snell Hall is recognized for Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation for a highly visible reinvestment project in the heart of Potsdam that adopted a successful historic preservation model and breathed life into an underutilized community resource by transforming it into a new mixed-use space.
That award recognizes close to a decade of planning and a comprehensive rehabilitation project that took place in the midst of the pandemic. The property was successfully nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, and rehabilitation planning began in 2018. Building Preservation prepared the Register nomination and handled historic tax credit applications for the rehabilitation project, which was done by the Quarry, LLC, a division of the Vecino Group.
The main building of Potsdam State Normal School, now know as Old Snell Hall.
Designed by Lewis Pilcher, the State Architect of New York, the Normal School building was built in 1917-1919.
By the time rehabilitation began in 2018, the building was showing its age, with soiled masonry and rusting spandrel panels.
The walls were gently cleaned, and the spandrel panels between the windows were restored.
The auditorium had seen numerous alterations over the years.
The view from the stage in 2022, showing the original maple flooring found beneath modern carpet and risers, and arched windows that had been partly covered for decades.
Former classrooms have been transformed into bright apartments.
The auditorium and other first-floor spaces are now used by Clarkson College and their Shipley Center for Innovation.
Blosser-Elman House, Malta Bend Vicinity, Missouri
The ca. 1874 Henry Blosser House was listed in the National Register in 1978. Although it was in very good condition when listed, by 2014 it was so deteriorated that it landed on Missouri Preservation’s list of Places in Peril. Luckily that designation brought it to the attention of Dr. Arthur and Mrs. Carolyn Elman, Kansas City residents who bought and restored the house and a large, early 20th-century barn on the property. With the help of Kelee Katillak-Heiffus of Heartland Historic Homes and Hercon Construction, the Elmans have ensured the house and barn will be with us for decades to come. In 2019, their efforts were recognized with a statewide preservation award from Missouri Preservation. Building Preservation was in charge of state and federal historic tax credit applications for the project.
Henry Blosser House, Malta Bend vicinity, Missouri.
Bunn Building, Waycross, Georgia
When new, the 1913 Bunn Building was touted as a marvel of modern construction, offering business tenants “all modern conveniences” in a “magnificent five-story office building.” After decades as a commercial building of choice, the building gradually fell from use. By 2018, it had been vacant for years, and was in poor condition, with missing windows, extensive water damage, ferns growing out of walls, and greatly altered ground-floor storefronts. A full-scale rehabilitation project began in early 2019, only to be set back by a fire and the COVID 19 pandemic. The Bunn Building LP ownership group and W.H. Gross Construction persevered, and the building was placed in service in 2021. It now contains workforce housing operated by Fairway Management, and again serves as an anchor to downtown Waycross, Georgia. Building Preservation handled state and federal historic tax credit applications for the project.
Bunn Building, Downtown Waycross, Georgia
Freedom Place, St. Louis, Missouri
A quote by Winston Churchill adorns the wall of a large new office in the Freedom Place housing complex: "Never was so much owed by so many to so few." Churchill was referring to veterans of the RAF, and the developers of Freedom Place—The Vecino Group—also turned their attention to veterans for this rehabilitation project in the city of St. Louis. With the help of Historic and Low Income Housing tax credits, this long-vacant building was transformed from an empty shell to bright, secure housing for formerly homeless veterans. The building was gutted in the late 1900s or early 2000s in preparation for a remodeling project that never got off the ground, and it sat open to the weather until a multi-million dollar rehabilitation project got underway in 2013. That project added 68 apartments for veterans and their families, plus office space for supportive services. Building Preservation handled state and federal historic tax credit applications for the project.
Freedom Place, St. Louis, Missouri
