Adaptive reuse keeps older buildings alive

Many see something special when they walk into an older building that's been repurposed from its original use without sacrificing its basic form and design.

To understand exactly what preserves that magic spell of some older buildings, you have to talk to some veteran architects.

“Older buildings were more celebratory in their sensibilities,” said Kevin Monson, president of Neumann-Monson Architects in Iowa City, referring to factors such as ornate facades, decorative wood moldings and high ceilings that contribute little to the building's pure function.

The quality of materials and construction in older buildings have been proven by time, Monson said, and many of them would be impossible to reproduce today at competitive prices.

So why wouldn't you - if you had the opportunity - repurpose an older building rather than building new, if it could achieve the same business objectives at a lower cost?

That process, known as adaptive reuse, has received more attention in recent years due to the green building movement, rising land and construction costs, and acknowledgment of the intangible value of unique spaces.

“There's nothing more green than recycling an existing building,” said Dan Thies, CEO of OPN Architects in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. “It is the ultimate in sustainable thinking.”

While repurposed buildings sometimes lack the energy-efficient design and materials of new structures, they often make up for it in the total energy equation. That's because repurposing an older building avoids the energy use required to make the building materials, and avoids the need for infrastructure - water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, sidewalks and streets - to serve a new development.

OPN in Cedar Rapids recently designed the conversion of the post-flood Cedar Rapids Public Library to serve as the new corporate headquarters for TrueNorth Companies. OPN's long portfolio of adaptive reuse projects includes the first conversion of a former industrial space into loft condominiums in Cedar Rapids, known as Water Tower Place, at 900 Second St. SE, in 2006-2007.

“We're finding many people interested in identifying older buildings with great bones that can suit their needs,” Thies said.

OPN moved about six years ago into an historic factory building at 200 Fifth Ave. SE after an award-winning renovation that exposed the building's massive brick and steel bones, high ceilings and huge glass windows.

Newly graduated architects considering employment tend to be won over by the building, Thies said. Clients often remark that it's the kind of space they'd expect to see in a large, more-cosmopolitan setting.

Architect Steve Emerson's Aspect Architecture in Cedar Rapids has handled well over a dozen adaptive reuse projects, many of them buildings he owns in downtown Cedar Rapids. He takes a different approach than some architects - identifying buildings with not only good “bones” but also good mechanical systems that still can be used to lower conversion costs.

“I try buying empty buildings that are not leasable the way they sit, and reconfiguring them somehow,” Emerson said.

He's even converted a former Carmike multiplex cinema into the Rockwell Collins Daycare Center, later selling it to a real estate investor.

Mike Pitzen, Devonna Wood and Tom Erger were planning to erect a new building for their Cabinet Studio Inc. business on a vacant lot in Hiawatha back in 2004, Erger said. They were getting close to a decision to buy the lot, when they were encouraged to look at a 94-year-old factory building at 700 16th St. NE.

The brick three-story Shores Central Park building had been constructed in 1911 as a home for a catalog retailer. While it had seen better days, it remained an attractive brick structure in fundamentally sound condition, Erger said.

“It was just liking the look of the old brick and realizing it was a structurally sound building,” he said. “We ended up buying it cheap and didn't really know how much the renovation would cost.”

After a lot of sketching and planning, the partners hired Shive-Hattery Inc. to figure out how to upgrade mechanical systems. Then they were off and running, with Erger, who had some construction background, serving as the project's general contractor.

Most of the interior was gutted and the exterior sealed and tuckpointed. Big windows that had been filled with concrete blocks were removed and replaced with new insulated windows.

“We bought it in October 2004 and moved the (Cabinet Studio) shop in during June 2005,” Erger said. “We didn't have anything done on the second and third floors.”

Cabinet Studio was fully moved in by the end of August of that year. Erger said the decision to fast-track Cabinet Studio's move into the ground floor space and leave the remainder of the building unfinished proved to be a sound one.

It enabled Cabinet Studio to serve as a model for other prospective tenants, even as it was able to save money by relinquishing its leased space elsewhere.

In leasing, the concept quickly changed from the original.

“We started out with the idea of a giant home center with (interior) decorators and floor covering businesses,” Erger said. “That was the pie in the sky view of things.

“But once you've got this much money on the line, you want to lease the space and are less picky about your plans changing.

“We didn't imagine having three hair salons in here,” Erger said. “But it's been good. It brings a lot of people in here and raises the profile of our (Cabinet Studio) business.”

In Iowa City, Neuman-Monson projects have included the conversion of an Elks lodge into Willowwind School at 950 Dover St., and converting Old Capitol Town Center mall at 201 S. Clinton St. into a mixed use office, retail and educational complex.

Kevin Monson said the process usually begins when the client brings him in to evaluate a building's potential. If the building's original blueprints are still available, it can simplify the process, Monson said.

Often, however, they are not. That sometimes makes it necessary to use a laser scanner to prepare new drawings of the building.

Architects say that clients should never shortchange the building evaluation stage of any adaptive reuse project. It's not uncommon for testing to identify unexpected features in the building design and environmental hazards.

Thorough analysis also can identify many costly maintenance and structural issues - such as the need for roof replacement, exterior tuckpointing of masonry structures or major electrical upgrades.

The issues typically can be overcome, but can add time and cost to a project.

Monson says the renovation plan is a good time to look at energy efficiency upgrades such as more efficient heating and cooling systems, windows, and roofing materials.

The floods of 2008 damaged many historic buildings so seriously in the Corridor that adaptive resuse was no longer economical, Thies said.

OPN has identified at least one building that should be saved, however. The company has prepared preliminary designs for a renovation of the former Great Furniture Mart at 600 First St. SE, a 96-year-old building with a modest brick exterior, but the potential for stunning interior spaces.