MIKE'S BUILDING & CONSULTING
HISTORIC PROPERTY WORK

Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc 1854

“To restore a building is not to preserve it, to repair, or rebuild it; it is to reinstate it in a condition of completeness which could never have existed at any given time.”

 

Introduction to the Historic Structure Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

MBC Takes historic rehabilitation seriously.  Rehabilitation is one of the types of historic structure work that is recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service which is the gold standard for understanding and doing historic rehabilitation in a quality way but also work that will last for another century.

 

The National Park Service (NPS) uses the term Historic Structure to refer to historic properties. The rehabilitation process for major historic structures often begins with a Historic Structure Report (HSR) that guides the decision-making process involved in any construction, rehabilitation or even just maintenance project.

 

An HSR is critical to careful planning as it serves as a record of the structure’s past, analysis of historic significance and condition, and plans for its future. The HSR is not so much a thing as a process that leads to successful preservation of buildings.  This process can take time, effort and money to complete, but once completed it is a guidebook for historic rehabilitation and can be the gateway for gaining grant money, tax credits and sponsorships

 

 

 

 

 

Drafting the Historic Structure Report

 

The NPS provides exhaustive guidelines for Historic Structure Report drafting. In essence, there are three main sections of a properly assembled HSR.  As a work product the HSR is a complicated, detailed and extensive document which can easily be hundreds of pages in addition to indexes, appendices and examples.

 

The first section of an HSR documents the evolution of the building, for example, locating original blueprints, material lists, any previous alterations, identifying ownership and use, and uncovering any causes of deterioration.  This can be an exhaustive research project since it involves identifying failures, deteriorations and other problems which then need to be solved.  Working with an historic property could be using time as a tool since it is important to understand why water has been dripping in the same place for 100 years and has not been able to be corrected.  Uncovering these problems takes time, unless the past owners have kept meticulous records and often understanding the community a historic property is located within can also add information to understand what has happened to a structure over time.

 

The second section of an HSR evaluates and plans for potential alternative uses for the historic structure.   First the property owner must determine the current uses of the property and the historic significance they want to attach to those uses.  Then the owner, in tandem with possible inheritors, community organizations and other interested parties can vision what the historic structure could be in the future.  Planning for any future needs is important in doing any construction work, but planning for those needs with a historic structure takes extra care and consideration of the historic nature of the structure.  We are making history right this moment and sometimes forget that.

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The third section of an HSR sets out a plan for preservation so that all information gathered can work in tandem and in harmony.  This plan is important since it will guide any physical work done on the property as well as allow for the documentation of this work.  Scheduling of this work is of vital importance since there are many steps involved in preservation, restoration and rehabilitation and as Mike has found he is usually doing one or all of this actions on each property he works with.  "Preservation is the highest standard and can be achieved at certain times in certain places.  Restoration and rehabilitation are the two places we work in the most following the Tech documents provided by NPS and a whole lot of common sense!"

 

The fourth section of an HSR documents the actual changes that are made during the rehabilitation project.  This is easiest if done while the work is proceeding.  Using before, during and after photos is a plus and can create a nice piece of history.  The third portion is also a good place to document maintenance plans, scheduling when certain portions of the structure will need to be looked at again.

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There is also an overarching narrative which threads through all four sections of the HSR assisting in telling the story of the historic property and the research, planning and physical work undertaken to provide for a sound future for each property.

 

If you are thinking that an HSR is an added attraction for potential future buyers you are right.  The extensive nature of the document is like handing someone intimate instructions about how to keep the historic property looking great well into the future which not only saves money and time but relieves any anxiety a buyer might have when thinking about purchasing a historic property.

 

When working with historic properties, it’s imperative to have someone like Mike Milewski and his team at Mike’s Building & Consulting to assist with the HSR.  Mike is seen as a preservation specialist who understands how to identify both technical and aesthetic aspects of a historic building’s character when preparing the HSR. Mike uses the HSR process to determine the best-suited approach to rehabilitation before any work on the historic building begins and assist throughout the design and construction phases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The HUB Project

 

Though it is important to keep historic properties true to their original architectural style, it is a common misconception that historic buildings can’t be changed. Take for instance a property acquired by Mike in Chicago.  This property secured its spot in history because it was once owned by Al Capone, survived the Chicago Fire, and is a brick two flat close to downtown Chicago. Finding prohibition style glass bottles along with some bones in the basement only solidified the paper history.

 

Mike assembled a project team that worked on the HSR for over 10 years.  Finding all the problems the building was experiencing and then finding the best solutions.  This may sound like a long time but for a building that was well over 100 years old when Mike purchased it this amount of time is very small. 

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Mike and his team identified unique problems in the basement plumbing, the need to remove red lead paint that had been erroneously applied to the blonde common bricks the building is composed of.  The cornice needed complete replacement as well as tuck pointing and various other work.  All this occurred after Mike had completely rehabilitated the inside apartments into state of the art spaces that also embraced their historic nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike assembled a project team that worked on the HSR for over 10 years.  Finding all the problems the building was experiencing and then finding the best solutions takes time and patience.    This may sound like a long time but for a building that was well over 100 years old when Mike purchased it this amount of time is very small.  Mike likes to work on the inside of a property first since the “sins of the elements” can be found there more easily and give clues as to what can has happened on the outside.  This was no ordinary rehabilitation project and the outcome of all the work has been magical. 

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The Historic Structure Report for the HUB project was completed by Mike and his team and developed into two volumes of several hundred pages. In the process of its drafting, numerous discoveries were made and documented including historic drawings and photographs of the building, neighborhood and information about the historic nature of 2 flats in Chicago.   Documenting the exterior of this brick building was also a time-consuming task since it had been painted red and left alone for over 50 years.  The cornice and window eyebrows took much research to rehabilitate and bring out their original characteristics.  A collection of drawings, plans and photographs along with sculptural details has been on a rotating exhibition which has traveled to several national locations and is set to travel again since the Covid-19 pandemic has ebbed.

 

The Historic Structure Report is a vital aspect of any historic restoration. It provides critically needed organization of property records and history and serves to support and document project innovation and process.  Without the HSR, Mike’s projects would never reach the quality, historic state that they do.  Property owners who work with Mike and when Mike is doing an HSR for his own property find the research and organizational aspects of HSR creation to be thrilling and needed.  Once someone has gone through an HSR process it is unanimous that all properties should have some element of an HSR at least in the compilation of all work done on a property which always helps guide the future work.  Without such work project innovation, planning and processes would not take place.  In the end, Mike sees his historic structure report creation and then implementation to be part of his work as an artist and that each property he works on becomes in effect a work of art.

 

As this project nears the end, Mike began looking for his next project and purchased a 3 story Victorian Mansion.  But as he has run into some difficulties with odd ordinances that were passed after his purchase so he is still not sure if the award-winning work he does will be understood in the context of historical rehabilitation.  So, he is working slowly to see if he wants to put the time and effort into rehabilitation there or elsewhere.  Since there are many towns asking for him to come and stay for a while, he has to make some decisions.  Mike’s familial connection to the Eau Claire area has him hoping to work things out and find partners within the city and county governments so that his work can continue and be understood.

 

A publisher has contracted with Mike and his team to write a book about their next Historic Structure Rehabilitation Project and Mike would like it to be the Eau Claire Victorian mansion, but it is still unclear.  Click on the link below to see a small part of the work Mike's team has already put into this historic property in a the beginning of their book Beauty In History:

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