SUMMER 2010 UPDATE: MACROSTIE HISTORIC ADVISORS

Landis Theater Rehabilitation Completed

The Northeast office of MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC has just completed a Part 3 filing for the Landis Theater and Mori Building in Vineland, New Jersey.  The Art Deco theater and attached auto dealership was constructed in 1937 by Eugene Mori, who started servicing and selling trucks with his brother Amador in 1918.   

The theater was sold in 1960 and twinned in 1980 in an attempt to compete with the multiplexes that were being constructed outside of downtown.  The Landis Theater closed in 1987, and in 1995, it was announced that the theater was going to be razed for a Rite Aid.  Local citizens protested the building's proposed demolition and formed the Landis Theater Redevelopment Association, which purchased the building from the Federal Resolution Trust Corp.  The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Place in 2001, and in 2005, the city acquired the building through a tax lien from Landis Theater Redevelopment Group.  

In 2007, the city issued an RFP for development of the building and chose Eastern Pacific Development, led by Hans Lampert, to redevelop the theater into a performing arts center. The attached car dealership was converted into a restaurant on the ground floor and banquet hall on the upper floor.  A new stage house was constructed to allow for the conversion of the theater to a performance space.  Many of the original Art Deco elements were restored including the original sign and marquee.  The rehabilitated theater reopened its doors on May 22, 2010, with a performance by Bernadette Peters.  The $10.5 million rehabilitation project is the first piece in a multi-block redevelopment of Vineland's downtown.

Wilde Building (CIGNA Campus) Featured in Preservation Magazine

MHA provided historic preservation consulting services for the successful rehabilitation of this striking International-style building, which is featured in the July/August issue of Preservation magazine. Designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill in 1957, the building is an early example of suburban office park architecture and was threatened with demolition a decade ago. In 2001, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Wilde Building to its list of America's Most Endagered Historic Places.

CIGNA HealthCare decided to rehabilitate the building. Known today as CIGNA Corporation's Wilde Building, the building underwent a three-year rehabilitation. Historic finishes, such as teak paneling, travertine walls, and terrazzo flooring in the North Wing were preserved, and in select areas, the ceiling was restored to reflect the historic condition. At the exterior, the North Wing circular drive and associated entry were refurbished to serve once again as the main entrance to the building. MacRostie Historic Advisors were brought in to consult on the rehabilitation project and secure federal historic tax credits. Read more about the property on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's blog.

What We're Working On

From our Washington, DC office, we are servicing:

• The tax-advantaged rehabilitation of the Old Western State Hospital in Stauton, Virginia, a historic hospital complex comprised of twenty-two buildings, for conversion to commercial and residential use. The complex includes former patient wards, employee residences, utilitarian buildings, and dairy farming facilities, dating from the antebellum period through the 1940s. The client, Urban Development Associates, LLC, is utilizing both state and federal historic tax credits;  
• Adaptive reuse of the Bailey Power Station complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by PTRP for mixed use. Beginning in 1925, the Bailey complex served as the power facilities for the local R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company plant. The complex features a variety of industrial buildings and associated structures such as coal silos, a pedestrian bridge, smokestacks, and a railroad trestle. The client plans to rehabilitate the building using state and federal historic tax credits; and 
• Advisory preservation services for Schafer-Richardson, Inc. on the mixed-use redevelopment of the Pillsbury "A" Mill Complex in Minneapolis, MN.

Our Boston office is providing historic consulting services for:

Renovation of the former Briarcliff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, by Evergreen Partners Housing for continued use as 201 units of affordable housing. The building is individually listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Architectural team of Chelsea, Massachusetts, are the architects for the project, which is combining historic tax credits and low-income housing tax credits;  
Proposed adaptive reuse of the Juliet Theater at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, as the college's book store. The 1930s Tudor Revival-style building is prominently located adjacent to Vassar's main campus; and 
National Park Service approval of the completed $27 million rehabilitation of the former Foxborough State Hospital Complex in Foxborough, Massachusetts as a 93-acre mixed-use campus featuring 100,000 square feet of Class A office space, 55 apartment units, retail, and 40 acres of community playing fields and walking trails.  MHA worked with developers VinCo Properties and Abrams Properties to guide the project through the federal and state historic tax credit process.

In Chicago we are consulting on:

• Tax-advantaged rehabilitation of the Pullman Wheelworks in Chicago's south side Pullman neighborhood by Mercy Housing Lakefront and National Housing Trust for continued use as 210 units of affordable housing. Constructed in 1920 by the Packard Motor Car Company and later used by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Co., the building was previously renovated for housing in 1980;
• Designation of the Spiegel Office Building on Chicago, Illinois' west side as an individual Chicago Landmark in order to utilize local historic preservation tax incentives. The Art Moderne-style loft building was constructed in two phases between 1936 and 1942 and served as the main administrative headquarters for Spiegel, Inc., one of the largest mail order houses in the country; and  
• Successful nomination of the West Argyle Historic District in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. MHA worked with affordable housing developer Mercy Housing Lakefront to prepare the nomination as part of Mercy's tax-advantaged rehabilitation plans for several properties within the district boundaries. The district's official listing on June 3 was covered by CBS Channel 2 in Chicago and by WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Albert Rex will be participating in National Housing & Rehabilitation Association's Summer Institute in Dana Point, CA, and speaking at the New Markets Tax Credit Symposium on Wednesday, July 21.  He will be on the "Using NMTCs To Achieve Comprehensive Neighborhood Redevelopment" panel and presenting the award-winning Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center project as a case study. The Midwest Office provided a full range of historic consulting services on the $43 million dollar project, which was undertaken as a charter school and utilized a broad range of funding sources including new markets tax credits.  For more information click here.  

MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC, 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 420,
Washington, DC 20036, (202) 483-2020 tel / (202) 483-2080 fax
Historic Tax Credit Consultants