Fall 2019 Preservation in Progress Awards Announced

For our fall 2019 Preservation in Progress Awards, LPA celebrates the major rehabilitation of a key 9th Street commercial corner property and the rehab of a historic, affordable house.

900 Mississippi Street

Brad Ziegler has made a Lawrence career buying, renovating and maintaining commercial and residential properties. He purchased Louise’s downtown in 1989 and owns the Tap Room and Six Mile Chop House, among others, but his recent focus has been on 9th Street just west of downtown.

He owns the Basil Leaf building and just completed a good-looking renovation of the old gas station next door for Mama’s Tamales. But for perhaps the crown jewel of his recent efforts, cross to the south side of 9th and take a look at the longtime laundromat on the corner at Mississippi: a full rehab under the watchful eye of the Kansas State Preservation Office is nearing completion and a new life as a restaurant to be called Big Mill.

The Preservation Office is involved because Brad is using a 20% state historic tax credit and a 25% federal credit for commercial properties to help offset rehab costs. Stan Hernly wrote the nomination for the building, now listed on both the state and national historic registers as Klock’s Grocery and Independent Laundromat.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Built by Fred Klock in 1922, the building replaced one at the same location that housed his grocery. In both buildings, Klock advertised his business as Klock’s Windmill Grocery, a reference to the community landmark that long stood at the top of the 9th Street hill. When the current building first opened, the eastern half was occupied by Beal Brothers Meat Market. The building transitioned in 1959 into Independent Laundry and Dry-Cleaning, which made a name for itself by providing a self-serve, coin-operated dry-cleaning service.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Mike Myers of Hernly Associates has provided all the architectural work and Joni Hernly is overseeing compliance with the tax-credit process. Andy Fletcher is the work coordinator on site, and Brad also points to Harvey Brothers Construction as a big help to the project.

Two outstanding features of the project are the pressed-tin ceiling inside and the transom windows. Portions of the original ceiling were damaged or missing, so Brad hired W.F. Norman in Nevada, Mo., to reproduce the stamp and fabricate new matching material. The windows were cleaned up and masterfully restored by Dave Anderson of Globe Art Glass.

Thanks Brad for bringing this corner commercial property back to tip-top shape!

723 New York Street

City leaders looking to improve affordable housing options should be paying attention to what Marci Fransisco and Joe Bickford have been doing for some time now. Each year they rehabilitate an older property that has served its entire existence as an affordable house. Plenty of sweat equity, rehab knowledge and use of salvage materials help to ensure each house remains affordable as it is improved. When the work is done, they tackle the financing portion of our affordable housing problem. Many people cannot purchase a home because they lack funds for a downpayment or can’t qualify for a conventional mortgage. But Marci and Joe, once they find the person or family they wish to hand the house off to, work out a payment plan that allows them to buy the house on contract.

For Joe in particular, this year’s project at 723 New York returns full circle to where this financing lesson was learned. This was the family home in which he grew up. Parents Gene and Dessi were renting when the owner decided to sell. When Gene and Dessi expressed interest but lacked the funds, the owner allowed them to purchase it on contract.

Joe’s many hours of work on the project this year brought back some childhood memories. His dad would walk to work at the box factory near the river. Joe enjoyed playing near the river and on the New York School playground. He would run errands for his mother to the grocery store on 416 E 9th Street, where Marty Olson’s shop is now. Working this summer in the living room, he could picture Dessi sitting in her recliner by the window where she would watch the trains roll by. He could still smell her cooking as he worked on the chimney in the kitchen.

Family ties to this project were made even stronger as longtime collaborator Ernie Fantini decided towards the end to move back to Delaware to care for his mother.  Ernie had begun working alongside Marci and Joe in 1991 on recommendation from master stonemason Keith Middlemas, and had participated on virtually every one of their projects since then.

With the Habitat for Humanity ReStore right across the alley, salvage opportunities were easy and included the sink, tub, tile, lighting fixtures and more.

723 New York offers Lawrence history as well as family history. Along with the house one door south, it was moved from another location by Park Hetzel in 1958. Behind both houses sits an old stone barn where the aunt of Langston Hughes kept her dairy cow.

In an era when traditional affordable starting homes in Lawrence core neighborhoods are being torn down and replaced with new homes that are unaffordable for many, Marci and Joe are preserving affordable options and maintaining the historic structures and character of  those neighborhoods. We’re sure LPA isn’t the only one who wants to say “thanks”!