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May 16, 2006
North Quad featured in LSA Magazine
There is an article about North Quad in LSA Magazine's latest issue here. It is a cheerleading article about the new dorm with the following comments about the Frieze Building from Robert Johnston, Director of Facilities and Operations for the College of LSA:
The building was built for high school students at the turn of the century. It has wide corridors, a poor structure, bad heating, no air conditioning and the windows are rotting out. If we kept the building we would be locked into its inefficiencies. It was not built to do what we’re asking of it now.
He also says that they did not make the decision lightly to demolish the Frieze Building.
Here is another old high school which was turned into housing. Cross Steet Village in Ypsilanti was formerly Ypsilanti's High School, today it is 104 apartments of moderate income housing for senior citizens. The original details of the high school were preserved as much as possible and the wide hallways have been furnished to create spaces in which chance encounters can take place in the commons (remember high school?)
Here is another old school which had many of the same "problems" the Frieze Building has. It also has many of the same historic, architecturally significant and beautiful features, too. The Leland Lofts was originally built in 1918 as the Nellie Leland School for Crippled Children. The architect, Malcomson and Higginbotham, was the same architect as the high school part of the Frieze Building. It didn't have air conditioning-so the developer installed it, along with Thermo-pane Windows.
According to this website the developer "is a really cool guy that has a personal interest in the city and believes in maintaining some integrity to the buildings he renovates." And according to the Leland Lofts website he is going to restore many of the "unique, unusual features" including a ramp from the first to the third floor which accomodated the original users of the school. The Leland Lofts has 32 condominiums.
These two projects demonstrate what is possible with old school buildings-if the developer is smart and creative they are very adaptable.
Posted by dfulmer at May 16, 2006 10:31 AM