[MassHistPres] Interior Preservation

[Cupfish Cupfish]

In 2003-2004 I founded a company called The Old House Institute.  My partner 
in this venture was Mr. Lee Tavares, formerly of Bolton.  Lee is an unsung 
hero of preservation, doing museum quality preservation on over 200 public 
and private structures in Mass. The Old House Institute was founded to 
educate realtors on the value, stories, and benefits of older homes.  The 
idea was to facilitate preservation by helping realtors understand this 
segment of their market.  We would visit a realty office for 1/2 day, and 
Lee would present an overview of exteriors, materials, decoration, flooring, 
fenestration, fireplaces and heating etc etc.  He's an excellent and 
charming presenter so I knew we wouldn't bore the audiences -- a key point.

The National Trust in conjunction with the National Assn of Realtors 
provides one such course, but it is infrequent and only in select cities.  
We wanted to offer a grassroots, local education service.

During market research the idea was very well received; during the sales 
process very few office mgrs were willing to pay for the service (roughly 
$100/head).  I then met with the Board of the Massachusetts Association of 
Realtors in Waltham to review our business plan and learn from the leading 
realty body in Mass how to adjust our business model for preservation 
education that worked for the realty business.  Without exception the 
boardmembers liked the idea, as long as it was free -- not cheaper, free.  
Without grant $ to back us the business fizzled.  Too bad because a 
fully-evolved preservation initiative needs to cover 3 avenues to reach the 
most people -- 1) government bodies (local HCs), 2) non-profits and then 3) 
directly to the buyers, sellers, architects and builders who are motivated 
by profit.  It's this third arm that's so tough to crack; it's been 
empirically proven that well-maintained older homes are a SUPERIOR 
investment.  (Google "economics of preservation" and check out the Brookings 
Institute's research on the subject.)  I'm also sure as a marketer and 
economist that folks are sick of living in communities with developments and 
shopping malls -- but they don't see an alternative.  So old homes get 
knocked down, in-town businesses located in original buildings suffer, and 
the quality of life deteriorates.  Frustrating!

Anne Cody Kornitsky
Oakham, MA
508.882.3777




>From: "Marcia  Starkey" <mdstarkey at crocker.com>
>To: "Aaron Marcavitch" <acornhp at yahoo.com>,"Roger Reed" 
><roger_reed at town.brookline.ma.us>
>CC: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Interior Preservation
>Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:39:13 -0400
>
>Hello,
>Concern for the preservation of private historic interiors seems to me to
>have the most strength thru an appeal to house value and resale strengths.
>We are told that much of the replacement of siding,windows etc. is to a
>large degree tied to frequency of stay in the U.S.. If this is true, the
>same dynamics should apply to interiors perhaps even more than exteriors
>because more people think about them in detail and they are more 
>"proximate"
>to the owners...probably especially women. There is extra "prestige/appeal
>value" in the kinds of interiors that I assume prompt this concern, and if
>so, and if the goal is to reach many owners in a community, it is more an
>education process than a legal one for HDCs and HCs?? And if you can be
>effective, this might very well spill over to exteriors and the pubic 
>realm.
>It seems to me that, if we are public agencies, we must focus first on the
>public realm, as nice as the other concerns might be, and that this focus
>includes meshing these values with the larger concerns of preserving or
>enhancing the community's "sense of place", landscapes, environment and
>planning alternatives.
>Marcia Starkey, Greenfield
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Roger Reed" <roger_reed at town.brookline.ma.us>
>To: "Aaron Marcavitch" <acornhp at yahoo.com>
>Cc: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 2:08 PM
>Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Interior Preservation
>
>
> > Aaron,
> >
> > I just wanted you to know I share your concern about loss of interior
> > spaces.  We see plenty of gut rehabs, but generally outside the local
> > historic districts where much of the exterior is lost as well.  It might
> > be an interesting question if one could figure out if an LHD protects
> > interiors indirectly insofar as most people who want gut rehab will look
> > elsewhere for a house.  I suppose thats just wishful thinking.  Of 
>course
> > on Nantucket, where the whole island is a district, that option does not
> > exist.
> >
> > Roger Reed
> >
> >
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> >
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