CREJ - Office Properties Quarterly - September 2016
Jon and Peggy Schallert, principals of The Schallert Group Inc., are celebrating a new start for a historic building in Longmont. 321 Main St., the building that once housed Longmont’s first bank, is open for business. Originally constructed in 1875, the building is the oldest brick building in Longmont’s history. Many early Colorado entrepreneurs walked through the bank’s doors to ask for a loan, including a young James Cash Penney (JC Penney) to help fund his business. It has been updated several times over the years and seen many uses, including as an alternative high school, an upholstery shop and a comic book store. In 2014, the Schallerts purchased the property and put a plan in place to renovate the building. This time the renovation would restore many of the bank’s original features and eventually would become home to The Schallert Group, a nationally recognized marketing and consulting company that specializes in small business and community work. The building needed to provide professional, functional offices, restrooms and meeting areas in the historically renovated space. From the beginning, the Schallerts set out to refurbish a building and use it as a work space. Respecting the history of the space was a priority, but adhering to the daily needs of a marketing firm was crucial. The plan’s first phases included extensive interior demolition, down to the building’s original framing, saving as many of the original finishes and features along the way. More prominent restoration features include 19th century marble penny tile flooring, the original tin ceiling, original 1870s brick and a fireplace made of cast iron and marble. “Saving the original features was a top priority for the Schallerts,” said Jason Golden, vice president of MW Golden Constructors. “We rehabilitated the marble penny floors, recreated the ceiling, removed plaster to expose the brick and refurbished the fireplace. It was a unique project.” The marble penny tile was found under layers of glue-down carpet and asbestos-containing vinyl tile and mastic, and was carefully rehabilitated. Plaster applied over the original demising walls was chipped away gradually until the original 1870s brick was exposed. A fireplace made of cast iron and marble was dismantled piece by piece, repaired and reassembled. Two coal chutes in the back were dug out and refinished. The building’s original Douglas Fir wood flooring was uncovered, repaired and refinished. Every aspect of the building was carefully analyzed and where the original couldn’t be restored new features that were added were made to look historic. In many cases, what couldn’t be saved or replicated was sustainably replaced. Many new features of the building are made from sustainable materials. Reclaimed lumber from Colorado buildings and fences was used for architectural woodwork, along with wood beams from torn down barns, for seating and shelving. “The addition of sustainable features gives the building a greater sense of place and helps create an environment that people love,” said Jon Schallert. “Not only do we get comments about how unique and one-of-a-kind the building is, we now have people approaching us about renting the space for their corporate meetings and retreats.” Like all great projects, this job was not without challenges. Keeping and restoring the original ceiling, for example, was a unique trial. In one part of the building, only 20 square feet of original ceiling was intact, so every piece of that original tin was relocated and reused. The existing tin ceiling had to be reconfigured to allow for handicap accessible bathrooms, which required finding experts in the field of historic architectural ceilings. The challenges continued throughout the project. Layers of asbestos were found and had to be removed. “This project was time-consuming,” said Golden. “While we didn’t go over budget, we did go over the scheduled timeline due to the careful care and laborious renovations required with each construction and design phase.” Still, the team worked through the challenges, keeping with the Schallert’s plan. “We focused on the old materials but brought in new construction techniques and solutions to solve our problems,” said Schallert. As a result of $217,252 worth of construction work, 321 Main St. now is 2,450 sf of commercial space, earning its keep once again. The renovation proudly boasts offices, a meeting space, a multipurpose area, and a room for seminars and training, complete with audiovisual equipment. The main floor is primarily used for workshops for small-business owners as well as a recording/broadcast studio. “Our 141-year-old building now has state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, and the same broadcast/webinar equipment that major convention centers can offer,” said Schallert. “Our clients now learn with this technology, but do it in a space that’s timeless.” The original Emerson & Buckingham Bank was a place rich in history, as Longmont’s earliest citizens and business leaders used its resources to build the city. “Now, when business owners and community leaders sit in our space, the building helps people imagine that anything is possible,” said Schallert.