ARCHITECTURE
“ We can continue to reuse historic buildings to increase housing supply . But there are other intangible things : Historic buildings help connect us to our past , they provide a sense of culture and community and a shared history . And we can ’ t get that back . Once you lose a historic building , it ’ s a non-renewable resource .”
SEAN DE COURCY Preservation director ,
City of Sacramento
William Burg , a historian for the California Office of Historic Preservation and author of “ Wicked Sacramento ,” a nonfiction account of Sacramento ’ s West End in the early 1900s , has a deep understanding and appreciation of Sacramento ’ s historic past . He serves as president of both Sacramento Heritage and Preservation Sacramento , nonprofits aimed at promoting and protecting Sacramento ’ s historic places .
Preservation Sacramento has thrown its support behind the adaptive reuse of several preservation projects , including the historic buildings along the 700 block of K Street and the new construction of affordable apartments in the back . The Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street and the earlier effort to restore the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium all fall under the preservation purview .
“ Adaptive reuse is any repurposing of an existing building for a new use , like converting a warehouse to apartments , like WAL , or converting an office building to a hotel , like the Citizen or the Exchange ,” Burg says . “ Embodied energy , like aesthetics or economics , is a reason to reuse existing buildings .” Burg explains that embodied energy represents the energy expended to create a building .
Preservation Sacramento has also been advocating for the adaptive reuse of the historic shop buildings at The Railyards . The paint shop building on the easternmost side is planned to be reused as a 5,000-seat live music venue and is the first in a series of projects slated for adaptive reuse in the central shops historic district . Construction is expected to start in late 2022 for opening in 2023 . The project was recently approved by preservation director de Courcy .
REUSING DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS
Sherri Metzker , principal planner and interim director of community development and sustainability for the City of Davis , is trying to make sure its historic districts are preserved and protected . She says most of the historic buildings are residential . Many of the homes are small , but rather than move , homeowners are adding on . “ Folks are trying to make them more contemporary without losing the historic charm they have in the home ,” says Metzker , who is seeing a lot more additions and ADUs .
A number of historic commercial buildings exist in the downtown area , and the city is working on a Downtown Davis Specific Plan to identify opportunities for adaptive reuse and space maximization . Many of Davis ’ historic commercial buildings are single story , with an opportunity for residential second stories . If adopted , the plan would allow for 1,000 additional residential units and about 600,000 square feet of non-residential space including retail , restaurants , office space and lab space . The goal is to present the plan to the city council for a vote by the end of the year . “ I think it ’ s good in a community to have a mix of architectural styles , and preservation of historical buildings adds to that and gives people an appreciation of what used to be ,” Metzker says .
The City of Elk Grove used a CLG grant several years ago to identify all of its historic buildings and has been working to preserve and adaptively reuse them . It recently worked with D & S Development and Dust Bowl Brewing Co . to rehabilitate a 6,000-square-foot former wine grape warehouse in its historic Old Town District , which was turned into a brewery and restaurant , the Old Town Tap House .
46 comstocksmag . com | June 2022