Plaster repair begins

I lost. I had hoped to keep the walls with partial plaster in places where it had come off. I thought the look of plaster exposing brick was cool.

Not according to State Preservation. Walls where plaster is largely in tack needs repairing to "original look". Places where the plaster had completely been stripped from the brick can remain.

So, here you see the plaster guy repairing the northwest corner, and you see a brick wall that can stay just as it is. A coat of brick glaze will be applied to prevent brick dust. I suppose that in time I won't remember partial walls....but this is a sad day.

Rooftop Construction

Work, life and building decisions are getting in the way of progress documentation. Oh, and taxes. This has been an extremely challenging year of administration related to taxes owed to the US and Canadian government. Alas, these are not related to Downtown living so I'll keep those stories for my All Things Inevitable blog......

Construction started last week on the rooftop structure and deck. Here are the beginnings of that work; the metal framing that will support it all. Notice the natural slope of the roof. We intend to maintain that by suspending the deck structure above the roof, allowing water to run freely below. Suspending the decking will also keep weight off the roof framing and allow for a level walking surface.

Here is a view from down the street; an area called Five Points. The big blue tarp is the rooftop structure you see framed above. I have one of the best views of the Hill Building (the building with the flag) because my roof is 40' above views from the street. Much more to follow on the rooftop as construction continues.

Storefront, Concrete & Redesign

Storefront: note that the plywood mural that has been the storefront for 6 months has changed. Construction is underway and the "storefront" has been moved out onto the sidewalk to accommodate the changes. Footings have been poured to allow for 2 columns to be added to support the sagging steel structural beam that you see at the top of the photo. The beam has sagged a bit over the last 100 years and columns are necessary to prevent further damage. Fortunately, the deflection has not been so much as to require replacement of the beam.

Concrete: inside, concrete is being poured to make the new storefront floor. Pouring is happening in 3 phases: footings, general floor material and then the pour that will be feathered out to create my new entrance ways. It's fun to watch the storefront take shape from the ground up. Hmph, sounds cliche'.

Redesign: unfortunately, the requirements of the Federal folks are creating churn in our overall plan. My third floor layout looks to be my biggest risk as the National Parks people think the "catwalk" is not acceptable. Scott and Tom are investigating ways to redesign that allows me to have a loft type floorplan but still meet government requirements.

I was warned that working toward Historic Tax Credits would be challenging. Leave money on the table or build the residence the way I want. Have a coin? I call heads.

Federal Approval: Sort of

Phase II of the Department of Interiors assessment of my building plans came back today. Obviously, getting it back is a HUGE amount of good news. We now know something. However, it was not necessarily good news. Here are a couple of areas we need to address (paraphrased):

1. Replacement Storefront: must be compatible with the appearance, size, design, proportions and profiles of a traditional historic storefront........Photos of completed work must be submitted.
2. Replacement windows must match the appearance, size, design, proportions and profiles of the existing. Comparable detailed drawings of existing and proposed must be submitted and approved by SHPO and National Park Services before proceeding.
3. Proposed rooftop addition must not significantly impact the historic roofline of the building. Construction of a mock-up and photographs of mock-up from "each surrounding right-of-way and keyed to the historic district map must be reviewed and approved".
4. Retaining historic plaster walls in a deteriorated condition does not meet the Standards and must be repaired. Photographs of the completed work must be submitted.
5. The proposed two-story space within the upper level apartment must be reduced in size. A preferable alternative was proposed. New plans must be submitted.
6. New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems must be installed in a manner consistent with the historic character of the building. Ductwork must be set back from storefront and painted. Photographs of completed work must be submitted.

If you can read between the lines and know me well, then you'll know some of this is disappointing to me. However, you'll also know that my optimism will change my outlook in about a minute. (tick, tock, tick, tock)

There, that is better. What is all the fuss about?

So here is some good news

Work has begun. Holes are everywhere in the floor and ground. And I got this as an email from Tom @ Center Studio:

.....Also, I was able to reach someone at the National Park Service regarding the status of Part 2 of the Tax Credit Application and they said they had misplaced a drawing and that had caused some delay, but were able to get another copy of the drawing from another department and it was now being reviewed. The review should be done within the next couple of days and I asked that she fax me a copy of the final Part 2 documents so that we can have them in hand before the mailed copy arrives.

This fax will allow work on the storefront, windows and new openings to begin in earnest. Keep your fingers crossed that it comes this week.

State Historic Approval??

Today I received the Review and Recommendations from the State Historic Preservation Office. The document has "United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service" in the letterhead. Let's see....the Internal Revenue Service.....I've just doubled the number of US Government Agencies I am in contact with. Well, those are 2 that I know of.

My review "meets the Standards only if the attached conditions are met". The conditions are not that rigorous or disappointing:

1. plaster will need to be added to the walls where it has deteriorated...with allowance for "some" existing exposed masonry
   
2. the storefront must have clear glazing on the windows (no tint)
   
3. the storefront aluminum must be baked enamel to replicate the appearance of painted wood
4. mechanicals and duct-work can not result in lowering of the ceiling heights, impact the character of the building or be visible from the exterior. Ductwork needs to be set back from the storefront, needs be adjacent to walls and must be painted to match the ceiling color

OK. Not so bad. But, who doesn't like the character of aluminum colored ductwork? Paint it, really??!! This we might review.

Now, I found that this isn't really approval. The Federal government will review this State recommendation and can either rubber stamp their approval (which also would mean State approval), or they will add their requirements including potential areas the State didn't highlight.

Never-the-less.....After too many weeks I've seen progress in the approval. It should be any day now that the build can commence.

Oh, and the tournament begins on Thursday. Thursday and Friday should be a holidays.

Work Begins......sort of

Demolition contracts signed. Self-Help consulted and location for dumpster and toilets are confirmed. I'm added as an endorsement to the contractors insurance policy. City plans are being drawn up to decide what portion of the front sidewalk can be blocked for purpose of barricade once the front comes down.

The work that goes on behind the scenes to get to complete major milestones is significant. I'm glad Scott is so diligent and is working on my behalf.

Unknowns that must become knowns before the end of demolition phase.....

• Access to back entrance and rain water management
• Construction loan details
• Where (if) to move the loft space
  

It seems opportunity for tax credits will be reduced if I continue with the plan to cut-out the third floor near the front of the building. Historic preservationist are concerned the "loft" will be visible from the street (it will) which would conflict with the period look. So, I need make some decisions about tax credits and possibility to move the loft to another portion of the interior.

More soon when actual demolition begins.

Repeating History

Oh, how I want to replace the existing storefront. I think it a face only a parent could love. Since I'm the parent and I don't love it, my child is under investigation for cosmetic surgery.....

A plug here for the architect, Scott; he likes the existing storefront. Maybe one needs a trained eye to appreciate its uniqueness.

We met today with City/State preservation experts to advise us on the possibilities of a building face lift. There was some risk they could tell me I MUST refurbish and leave the existing structure. This seems a more remote response after today's meeting.

Historic preservation of street facing facades seems to fall under consideration of two guiding principles: 1) existing structure is deemed historic if greater than 50 years old and 2) "pre WWII" structures come under significant approval rigor before granting renovation allowances.

We've confirmed my existing storefront was built after 1942; perhaps in the 50's or 60's by the Friedman's Jewelry family who operated out of this location. We can also confirm the "original storefront" was NOT recessed. This provides some confidence I might be able to put it back nearer its original configuration and have some flexibility in the design. But, for now it goes back to the City Preservation counsel for consideration and future guidance.

Meanwhile, I can not start demolition on the storefront. My considerations pending counsel review:

• existing storefront renders approximately 200 sq. ft. of space useless for modern commercial/retail business requirements
  
• maintaining historical integrity is important to me - the definition of "historical" will be interesting
  
• interior ground floor needs more light which would occur by removing recessed entrance
• eligibility and receipt of Historic Tax Credits may swing possibilities for my future renovations
• I'm not in love with the existing storefront (this needs mentioning often)
  

Check out the folks at endangereddurham. They do a great job of digging up property history and photographs of the Downtown Durham area. Here's a link to their review/photographs of my building (308westmain).