Franklin Elementary School – Franklin Center

HISTORIC REHABILITATION TAX CREDIT CONSULTING AND EXTERIOR FAÇADE CONSULTATION: MASONRY, HISTORIC WINDOW REPLACEMENT

STRATA Architecture Inc. was hired as the preservation architect and historic tax credit consultant for the Franklin School adaptive re-use project. The 1898 Romanesque Revival school building functioned as a school until the early 1970’s when it was sold into private ownership. The building has remained a community catalyst in the historic Argentine Neighborhood serving as a hub for small businesses, a daycare and had a popular cafe. Today, the building is owned by a non-profit neighborhood group who plan to rehabilitate and revitalize the property once again into a community-focused center, providing spaces for businesses and events and a new neighborhood cafe. STRATA worked as part of the Convergence Design Team and performed an exterior building envelope assessment and prepared exterior rehabilitation drawings for inclusion in the overall building rehabilitation set which includes major site and building (interior and exterior) work. Exterior rehabilitation work includes: historic window replacement, masonry restoration and roof repair. The Franklin Center is scheduled to begin construction in mid-2016.