Historic Preservation Commission objects to Public Works demolition

The city's Historic Preservation Commission is objecting to the City Council's decision to demolish the Public Works Building, citing a federal process the group says was ignored.

In a letter sent to the council Monday, commissioners strongly encouraged the city to retain the Administrative Office Building, 1201 Sixth St. SW, at the former Link-Belt Speeder site.

“In this case, the decision to merely mitigate the adverse effect of the historic loss stemming from demolition of the Administrative Office Building appears to have been made prior to exploring options for avoiding or minimizing the adverse effect, such as by refurbishing that building rather than demolishing it,” commission members wrote.

At issue is the Section 106  process of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Section 106 requires that when federal funds are used on historic properties, adverse effects – demolition is one example – must be avoided whenever possible. If avoidance is not possible, minimizing adverse effects is required.

Commissioners said the 1940s-era office is the only Cedar Rapids area building in the Bauhaus style, a form revered in Europe and rare in the United States.

Members first heard of the demolition plan during an Aug. 25 FEMA presentation, after the design process for a new building had begun.

The city plans to use FEMA funding to demolish the flood-damaged complex and build new at a cost of $29.9 million.

City officials this month said building new would be cheaper than renovating the building - a price tag pegged at $31.1 million.

The city purchased the site for $1.5 million after Link-Belt Speeder closed in 1986.

City offices, such as Code Enforcement and engineering departments, have been operating out of the second floor of the building.

The first floor was gutted after the 2008 flood.

Todd McNall, an architect and member of the preservation commission who toured the site, said downtown buildings that sustained more flood damage have been renovated and reoccupied.

“The city found a way to replace a building without a local bond issue, so they're going all-in on it,” he said at a commission meeting Thursday.

Maura Pilcher, chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Commission who also toured the building this month, said FEMA funding “isn't free. It's taxpayers' money.”

She asked that the City Council show leadership in making the right decision for taxpayers, as well as in preservation and environmental efforts.

“We have learned that two major perceived gains in building a new office building is increased energy efficiency and a roughly 20,000 square-foot reduction in space,” the letter stated. “The historic office building is of masonry construction and investing the efficiency upgrades on the historic structure could bring LEED certification within reach and diminish the quantity of embodied energy and construction debris in the landfill.”

The all-volunteer commission asked that the council explore using mitigation funds from the demolition of the Link-Belt Speeder warehouse buildings to restore the Administrative Office Building.

As proposed, the new building will be 307,000 square feet, including 46,000 square feet of office space.

City officials said the two-story office building will go up along 15th Avenue SW at the back of the 19-acre site, with a new vehicle maintenance and storage facility behind it. Construction is slated to start in 2012, with completion in 2014.

Here is the text of the full letter from the commission:

Dear Mayor and City Council:

The Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) strongly encourages the City Council to retain the Administrative Office Building located on the historic Link-Belt Speeder Corporation site.  The Administrative Office Building is the only Cedar Rapids area building of the Bauhaus style, a style revered in Europe and rare in the United States.

The HPC first heard of the demolition plan for this city-owned historic building during a FEMA presentation on August 25, 2011.  In connection with this contemplated demolition, the HPC has been asked to consider proposed loss mitigation measures pursuant to the National Preservation Act of 1966 because a Federal Agency is funding activity that will have an adverse effect on a historic asset in our community.

Section 106 of the Act requires that adverse effects on historic assets be avoided whenever possible.  If avoidance is not feasible, minimization of the adverse effects is required.  Only when both avoidance and minimization are not possible may the Federal Agency resort to and rely exclusively upon loss mitigation measures, which is the least valuable and effective historic preservation tool.  In this case, the decision to merely mitigate the adverse effect of the historic loss stemming from demolition of the Administrative Office Building appears to have been made prior to exploring options for avoiding or minimizing the adverse effect, such as by refurbishing that building rather than demolishing it.

As a Certified Local Government, the City of Cedar Rapids has committed to preservation of its cultural assets.  The City Council appoints 11 volunteers to dedicate countless hours to this effort through educating the public and advising the Council on its historic resources.  We ask that the City Council lead this Section 106 process by exploring the use of mitigation funds from the soon-to-be-demolished Link-Belt Speeder warehouse buildings to restore – rather than demolish – the historic Bauhaus-style Administrative Office Building.

We have learned that two major perceived gains in building a new office building is increased energy efficiency and a roughly 15,000 square-foot reduction in space.  The historic Office Building is of masonry construction and investing the efficiency upgrades on the historic structure could bring LEED certification within reach and diminish the quantity of embodied energy and construction debris in the landfill.  Demolishing a typical two-story commercial building eliminates all of the environmental benefits of recycling 1,344,000 aluminum cans.  The additional 15,000 square feet will undoubtedly be filled in the future as the City continues to collocate its citizen-focused operations.

The City Council has a wonderful opportunity to showcase its preservation, cultural, and environmental leadership by retaining, restoring, and reusing the historic Link-Belt Speeder Administrative Office Building, rather than destroying a rare icon of 1920s, 1930s and 1940s architectural style.  We respectfully encourage it to do so.

Respectfully,

The Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission

Significance:

o       Important example of road building companies in Cedar Rapids during the 20 century highway construction boom in the U.S.

o       When built, largest factory in the U.S. specifically designed for manufacturing cranes and shovels

o       Origins traced to Speeder Machinery Company established in Leon, Iowa in 1919 and merger with the Link-Belt Company of Chicago in 1939

o       New Link-Belt Speeder Building in 1948 marked the transfer of crane manufacture from Chicago to Cedar Rapids

o       Employment neared 2,000 by the late 1960s with 40 crane and excavator models produced locally

o       Link-Belt became FMC in 1967 and by the early 1980s produced 200 cranes and excavators with lifting capacities up to 700 tons

o       Link-Belt/FMC closed in Cedar Rapids in 1986

o       FMC property became Cedar Rapids Public Works Facility in 1987 at the sale price of $1.5 million.

Administrative Office Building, 1946-1948, Milton Searle Carstens, Architect, Chicago