Items Tagged ‘historic preservation’
Essay: Can Historic Preservation Help Lead Us Out of the Recession
Publication Date:
September 28, 2009Written By:
James T. Kienle, FAIASource:
Contract MagazineRead more...
Synopsis:
Kienle discusses a great opportunity for our cities and towns during this recession – historic preservation and adaptive reuse. The housing and construction bust has shown us that we can not endlessly develop new buildings. Couple this with the exorbitant amount of virgin materials that new construction requires and you have a recipe to reevaluate “development.” This perfect storm has opened up the developer, architectural, and construction fields to reconsider old, vacant buildings. Kienle suggests that there is great economic potential by focusing on adaptive reuse. “Studies show that dollar for dollar, historic preservation is one of the highest job-generating economic development options as illustrated in the 2005 presentation “The Economics of Historic Preservation” by Don Rypkema.”
Hidden Treasures
Publication Date:
June 1, 2010Written By:
Joseph Lee LEED AP and Andrew Wolfram LEED APSource:
Environmental Design + Construction (ED+C)Read more...
Synopsis:
Joseph Lee and Andrew Wolfram provide a great overview of the initial steps and actions that should be taken when undergoing an adaptive reuse project. These steps can help provide the foundation for a successful and sustainable reuse of an old building. The first step is to examine the existing building to determine those elements that may be most useful in the repurposed building. By determining the pros and cons of the existing structure, you can make the most of the building resource. This examination will also help to evaluate what potential programming may be possible within the space. A specific element when looking at the existing structure is to also review any modifications or renovations that may have occurred over the course of the building’s history. Doing so may find some modifications that actually work against the usability of the space and may then need to be removed. Finally, if the building can be or is listed as a historic building, a tax credit may be available. By ensuring that the adaptive reuse is sensitive to the historical shell, the project costs may be reduced by such a credit.
Venice Model Of Preservation, Transformation Of Cultural Heritage
Synopsis:
Venice, Italy, has been granted over 6,000-square feet for a permanent stand at the Shanghai Expo in the Urban Best Practices Area due to the city’s long history of reuse and repurposing of buildings. By saving old buildings and sites and repurposing them for public use, the city has been able to preserve its historic past. The examples throughout the city are numerous and present great case studies for other communities. Adapting our built environment for new needs is both environmentally and socially responsible.
Developer Eyes Old Candler Hospital For Mixed-Use Development
Synopsis:
Underutilized since 1980, the Warren Candler Hospital on Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia, has big plans underway. WECCO is now working on the details to adapt this old hospital into a truly livable mixed-use area. The old halls will soon be home to new retail and office space as well as rental apartments catered toward young professionals. The complex of two buildings has seen some utility since the hospital closed, but it those uses were minimal and short lived. The new plan will help to solidify the developments place in the Historic District and bring a new vitality to the area. Much work needs to be done due to years of neglected, but the developer has noted that the structure has very strong bones. Savannah will certainly benefit from this project in the long run.
Historic Preservation and Sustainability Go Hand In Hand
Publication Date:
April 4, 2010Written By:
Green Theater InitiativeSource:
The Center for Sustainable Practice in the ArtsRead more...
Synopsis:
Adaptive reuse is closely tied to historic preservation and sustainability. While not all adaptive reuse projects utilize historically registered buildings, many historic preservation projects incorporate some adaptive reuse of the space. The greenest building is always the building already built, making the reuse of an existing building highly sustainable. This article goes into exactly how historic preservation and sustainability are related. It looks at the general process for both avenues and how they can be joined together.
Historic Guasti District Getting Mixed Makeover
Synopsis:
As part of the Historic Guasti District project in Ontario, California, the City and developer Oliver McMillan have started adapting nine buildings in the Guasti district. The nine buildings (totaling 175,000 sf) are part of the 55-acre project that will include a mix of restaurants, entertainment, hospitality and lifestyle tenants. The redevelopment of Guasti Village will eventually include 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 600,000 square feet of office, residential units and two hotels. The nine buildings that make up the first phase of the project include the Guasti Villa, a firehouse, five worker cottages and two residences. The adaptive reuse project includes historic preservation measures in order to protect the buildings as well as murals and other artifacts from the Villa. The project is a major tool in the strategic development that will be incorporated at a number of sites in the city.
Making Green Places Thru Adaptive Re-Use & Historic Preservation
Publication Date:
June 25, 2009Written By:
Mary Ann HeidemannSource:
Land Policy Institute - Michigan State UniversityRead more...
Synopsis:
Dr. Mary Ann Heidemann outlines the potential for adaptive reuse and the benefits this effort can provide. She focuses on the green perspective – saved energy and land. She emphasizes that “the greenest building is the one that has already been built.” Due to their “low road” type, industrial buildings are perfect for adaptive reuse as their designs and layout are not unique. This allows the building to be used in any potential fashion. She walks through a number of successful projects. The presentation closes by positing that “adaptive re-use of historic downtowns makes for great places” which is important to a successful knowledge economy.
Adaptive Re-Use Regulations
Synopsis:
Smart Growth Vermont outlines how adaptive reuse regulations in a community can help to support smart growth principles. These regulations “are used to allow – or to encourage – owners of historic buildings to maintain and reuse those buildings.” The process supports smart growth because: located where public infrastructure already exist, within neighborhoods with a close mix of uses nearby, designed to pedestrian rather than vehicular orientation, do not use greenfields for development. Additionally, SGV points out that this method also generates additional tax revenue and new local jobs. SGV suggests that communities incorporate adaptive reuse provisions in their zoning bylaws in order to allow for a broader range of land uses than typically allowed. They will need to be coupled with incentives for residential density bonuses, reduction in on-site parking and other facility requirements, or waivers on limitations for nonconforming structures. Communities should also consider including historic preservation standards to the adaptive reuse provisions.