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The First
Step in Restoring Your Historic Place of Worship
By
Kristine Hoehn, AIA / Hoehn Architects P.C.
My partner
and I recently had the pleasure of meeting the Pastor of a beautiful
historic church here in Denver that is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. The Pastor gave us a tour of his church and
spoke with pride of its architectural history and elements that
make the building so special: the stained glass windows, the exposed
natural wood trusses and beaded board ceiling in the sanctuary,
the original carved wood pews, the tall paneled wood entry doors,
the beautiful exterior brick and stone detailing, and the lovely
bell tower above the main entry that still functions today.
The Pastor
told us about how he would like to make improvements to the property,
including restoration of the exterior and making the building accessible
to individuals with disabilities. He said that many of the members
of his congregation are getting older and would appreciate being
able to walk up a ramp, rather than steep steps, to the church.
He showed us the small, cramped restrooms that are in desperate
need of upgrading. He talked about restoring the stained glass windows
so that they are protected for the enjoyment of future generations.
And then he told us about his budgetary constraints. How can this
beautiful historic church be restored and made accessible with limited
church funds?
One solution
that owners of historic buildings are turning to is the Historic
Structure Assessment. The funding for this assessment is available
through the Colorado Historical Society – State Historical Fund.
A grant of $10,000 is available from the Fund that does not require
a cash match from the grant recipient (although some match will
provide substantial support for the request) and is available at
any time during the year. The purpose of the assessment is
to assess the condition of an entire historic building with the
following steps taken:
- Researching
the history of the building and its use over time starts the assessment
process. What changes have been made to the building since it
was first constructed? Were any additions built? What historic
fabric that is now visible is original and worthy of special attention?
This historical information is included in the "History and
Use" section of the report.
- The building’s
structural components including the foundation, walls, and roof
are examined. Its systems and assemblies (such as the mechanical
and electrical systems, the doors and windows, and the appendages
– like the church’s bell tower) as well as interior/exterior materials
and finishes are all carefully inspected with recommendations
made for their preservation. Questions asked during the assessment
process include: What architectural elements are historically
significant and, therefore, important to restore? What is their
current state of repair? How should the various components be
repaired? Here we would look at the stained glass windows that
the Pastor would like to restore and assess their existing condition.
This section of the report is called the "Structure Condition
Assessment" section.
- The assessment
also addresses other issues such as hazardous materials, access
by the disabled, and building and zoning code compliance. Do there
appear to be any hazardous materials on-site, like asbestos-containing
pipe wraps at the mechanical equipment? Is the building accessible?
Does the parking lot provide the number of parking spaces required
by the zoning code? Are accessible parking spaces provided?
In this section, called "Analysis and Compliance",
we would address the Pastor’s concern about his church needing
to be made accessible for all members of his congregation.
- Illustrations
are used to supplement the narrative description and evaluation
of existing conditions. We also look for original historic drawings
and photographs of the building to help guide us in making restoration
recommendations and usually provide computer-generated measured
floor plans as a part of the assessment. These drawings can then
be used later during the Preservation Implementation Phase of
the project.
- Once the
building is thoroughly examined and its history is understood,
a new section of the report called the "Preservation Plan"
is written that takes the recommendations made in the "Structure
Condition Assessment" and "Analysis and Compliance"
sections and organizes them according to priority. Typically,
urgent work, such as deterioration, structural weakness, and life
safety issues take precedence. The Owner may also have a desire
to make functional changes and improvements to the building that
are included in the "Preservation Plan". It is important
that these changes not detract from the historic nature of the
building. The restroom improvements that we discussed with the
Pastor are an example of an appropriate functional change. Finally,
with the aid of a Contractor, we produce a cost estimate that
accurately reflects the cost of construction for all recommended
work. The plan may call for the project to be done in phases:
it may make sense to accomplish exterior work separately from
interior improvements.
With the assessment
completed and the cost estimate in hand, the Owner is now ready
to apply once again to the Colorado Historical Society – State Historical
Fund for a new grant that can cover up to 75% of the cost of the
Preservation Plan. These grants are competitive and their applications
are due on April 1st and October 1st of every
year; each grant application is carefully reviewed and screened
by a committee of historic preservation professionals. The chances
of obtaining one of these grants are much greater when an historic
structure assessment has first been completed that carefully defines
a Preservation Plan for the building.
So when the
Pastor asks, "How can my beautiful historic church be restored
and made accessible with limited church funds?" we tell him
to first begin the process with an historic structure assessment.
Hoehn Architects
P.C. offers a full range of architectural and historic preservation
services ranging from historic structure assessments and design
through construction administration and can be reached at 303-282-3884
or by email at tkhoehn@mho.net.
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