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Mark Reavis: I reviewed the original submission that was part of the application. There were some things about it that we know more information about now, but i did evaluate it based on the submission that did come in on time to review. This is the Loy office building. The inventory form indicates it was built in 1897, it's the oldest surviving pre-1900 office building in Flagstaff. Its uniqueness is pretty much its really conservative size and proportions. It is the former bookstore that was stuccoed in the front, a pretty simple building. It is part of the railroad addition national register district. It is in the downtown overlay. The inventory form for the railroad addition actually was done 46 years ago, which is pretty amazing, where the inventory has almost hit historic standards, and certainly, the re-stucco is more than 50 years old. These early buildings were done with low-fired clay brick that does have a lot of issues when the weather hits it. Again, a lot of the time it was deteriorated to such a point that people would end up stuccoing the building to solve the issue. It does have some fairly fragile aspects to it as being this low-fired brick, which did cause some concern for me. The original submission had the removal of the stucco. If we removed all the stucco, the expectation would be that you would preserve the brickwork, which would be neat, but i have a strong feeling that the way they would stucco buildings, they'd simply nail chicken wire into the brick, blow up the brick. It was probably deteriorated in the first place. I had a strong opinion on the fact that it has peeling paint and that the paint can be appropriately removed and repainted and that we don't have to go to this point of really threatening the internal structure of the building. The foundation shown is more like a typical construction foundation. It's a stone foundation. We know that from the back addition on this little building as well. I had some concerns about how that would be treated, but there are extensive structural engineering drawings and studies on what the actual structure is. They're talking about major work to make the building more stable and to pour in a concrete floor and secure the foundation for the building so it can last longer. Remarkably, they were putting all aspects of this little cookie shop into the existing small footprint. It's the original rectangular building and a small addition on the back, and they've managed to fit all those things in. The submission had blackout windows with a film. Again, that caused a little bit of concern about the appearance, so we want to make sure we can work toward a solution where it still looks like a window that whatever closure they need to do for equipment that goes in, that it looks appropriate, and it still has the visibility like it's a window. There are a lot of alternatives to that than just putting a blank-out film on the outside of the windows and the inside. Those windows were actually replaced at some time. That was noted in the inventory form. There are a plate glass window that fills the whole opening. Again, the assumption would be there was probably a wooden sash, an operable window of some form maybe with some divided lights. Those windows that are there, those large plate glass windows, are not original to the building, and it would be appropriate with energy codes and improving the general historic appearance to change those out in an appropriate way. We've looked at options for that as well. I went through the downtown handbook design standards for this project. I also took a close look at the Secretary of Interior standards on this. I also noted the masonry aspects and also how fragile that internal system is of that wall that's there. I did express concerns about when we're piercing lights through that masonry and that type of stuff, that we end up not injuring the building since it's from 1897. I have had that discussed quite a bit with the architect. Again, it's progressed a lot longer than this original submission that you guys have looked at. There are additional submissions to the building safety department on what's going to be done. I'm feeling quite calm about this and I think it'd be a really great use of a very small building with no additional changes to the outside. It will still have the look and feel of this small little building. Kevin Gore: We were illuminated as to the history and the significance of the building, so we made a number of design changes to try to respect the fabric of the building, including not removing the existing stucco, but working as gently as possible to remove all the paint back down to a solid substrate and patching only as required, and then repainting the building. The signage package, we worked with the sign vendor to try to come up with something that was appropriate to the building. It is a very thin dimensional letter that's being posed with a very low diameter in-mounting that would occur in the grout lines of the brick, not in the face of the brick itself. The windows, the intent at the current time is to restore the existing windows. We do need the GC when they are on-site to help evaluate them, and if they do need to be replaced, they would be replaced with an energy-efficient fiberglass unit that would perform well in the high-temperature swing environment of Flagstaff. At that time, if we do replace it, we will be looking at historic photos for a divided light pattern that was appropriate to the time of the building. We would have to, obviously, revisit that with the commission. But right now, the intent is that they remain in place. We will be removing all the metal grills on the building and to obviously improve the appearance of less of a jail-like to it. Let's see, the goose-necks. We are working with the client's lighting vendor. They have a national account with a lighting vendor. Our selection of light fixtures was for design intent. They will be providing catalog cuts for dark sky-compliant goose-neck fixtures that also in their appearance are more historic rather than typical sign lighting. The goose-necks we felt were a better selection. But they are, as I said, sourcing dark sky-compliant ones. When we were on site, the floor system had some serious issues, so it's wood floor joists within anywhere from 6 to 30-inch crawl space with a dirt floor, so there's no vapor barrier, there's no vermin barrier. We're totally removing the floor system carefully in stages and installing a completely new stem wall of reinforced concrete that would help reinforce the current rubble foundation. We'll be backfilling with compacted fill, gravel, vapor barrier, and a reinforced concrete slab to give a better flooring substrate. We'll be putting in new plumbing underneath. The interior walls will be insulated, the roof will be adding r30 insulation, some reinforcing work on the roof, and replacing the interior finishes completely. In effect, it will be a completely new building within the building while trying to preserve the exterior characteristics. We are taking to heart with the client how to address the window and door that we did show blackout film. We've restated that on the permit set of drawings that went to the billing department, that it will be a window treatment that looks more like window shades that were appropriate to the time that looked like just someone's home, but the window shades are drawn. One of the other things we're looking at is actually some historic imagery setback from the window. It'll be one of those two, but it will no longer be a blackout film. Abbey Buckham: The amount of times that we've used the word fragile and gentle is making me a little nervous. but, Mark, you seem confident that it can be done well, or do we have a plan b in case it ends up being more difficult or more delicate than we thought? Mark Reavis: When I looked at the engineering drawings, they're quite clear that they're being done very carefully. It reflects the architectural set. It reflects the stone foundation, the depths that are there, and how they do it with a very systematic means of doing the new foundation. All that foundation work is actually done internally. What the architect just said about putting a building inside of a building, that's basically what's taking place. So very limited impacts, a lot of care and the fact that that new interior perimeter foundation will lock in that existing stone foundation will be very important to the long-term survival of the building. I think the engineering was done really well on that. There's just a little bit of initial miscommunication with that initial section drawing that you see in that architectural set. Emily Dale: Mark, does that mean that the current starlight books is going to be preserved underneath the new? Mark Reavis: No, they're going to repaint. Emily Dale: Is there going to be any effort to record that in a more meaningful way than pictures on google books or google images? It looks like starlight books was opened in 1984, which means it's now 40 years old, I know it's not technically historic, but it feels like for many people in flagstaff, it's been such a mainstay of downtown that it feels like it's been there forever. It would be nice if there was some effort to officially record it. Mark Reavis: I do like the progression of our historic buildings and how the uses have changed over time. Again, we could make the suggestion on how they promote the little cookie shop as being a unique aspect of Flagstaff. So, I am more than willing to work on history, interpretation, and understanding of the progression of this little building and how it fits into Flagstaff's history. Duffie Westheimer: Could there be a plaque on the exterior that talks about it? Kevin Gore: Is that something we would provide or is that something that the historic commission would provide? Either way, I'm sure the client is more than willing and amenable to that. Just like the neighbor across the alley, they have a, I think it's a bronze plaque that talks about the building. Either way, if you have the text, then we would have a sign vendor create something for your approval, however, you normally handle that, I'm sure on the client side that they'd be more open to that. Emily Dale: How did all those plaques end up there? I'm surprised the building from 1897 doesn't already have one. Mark Reavis: It is just an effort with existing businesses to celebrate their history. I wasn't here, but it was an effort more than 10 years ago to document how these buildings looked and acknowledge their history. So we keep following that interpretive aspect of things. Keeping our history alive somehow is always important. Alycia Hayes: Are we talking about a plaque that would talk about the building being constructed in 1897 and then in 1984 it was starlight books? Emily Dale: I think that would be very fitting with what's already downtown, and I did not know that building was that old, so I think that's pretty impressive. Bernadette Burcham: In regards to the signage, and the look of the sign, could we make it consistent with the look of the other signs that we have on the other buildings downtown? Mark Reavis: Yeah. Those are anodized aluminum signs, they work really well. They're affordable, they take text and photos very well, and they're quite durable. So that has been what we have been proposing for interpretation to be consistent. Emily Dale: This is going to come back to us like next month, or some other month? Mark Reavis: It's probably going to be a certificate of no effect from me on the signage package. Signage has to meet the sign ordinance standards, and my effort is pretty much not to damage historic materials. That's kind of the level of where I am in my reviews, not necessarily the aesthetics of the signage. Alycia Hayes: You mentioned that they might possibly have fiberglass and then you also mentioned divided lights. Would that be possible for an overlay where it looks like divided lights on the glass? Mark Reavis: I have a feeling it was divided transom up above and probably a single hung operable. But we could look at as many historic photos as we can. But certainly, that large of opening would not have had a solid piece of glass in 1897. So that plate glass is pretty obvious that that was a replacement. Again, you can do wood, but metal clad doesn't look that great. But certainly, some of the fiberglass has been accepted by the Park Service on commercial properties. Not National Park Service at the canyon, but for a tax credit, yes. Alycia Hayes: I was just working on a project where we decided not to do divided lights because it would look too much like we were trying to take it back to a particular period. Duffie Westheimer: Is this a federal tax credit project? Mark Reavis: No. I am surprised with the amount of investment. |