Strathmore Earns Historic Preservation Honors

Governor Rick Snyder and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Executive Director Earl Poleski have chosen the Strathmore Apartments to be a recipient of the 2017 Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation in a ceremony on May 2 at the Michigan State Capitol.

Originally built in 1924, the Strathmore Hotel is located at 70 West Alexandrine, which is in the Willis-Selden Historic District that has one of the largest concentrations of architecturally significant, late 19th and early 20th century buildings of mixed uses in Detroit, according to Daily Detroit.

The Strathmore Hotel sat vacant for over a decade, but thanks a public-private partnerships including a mixture of funding sources including: private development, MSHDA Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits, the $27.9 million redevelopment opened in 2016.

Of its 129 units, 40 percent are offered for affordable housing rates while the other 60 percent are market-rate. There is also 2,000 feet of commercial retail space.

PM Environmental, Inc. provided the environmental site assessment work on the 142,000-square-foot structure and surrounding property. As part of the Phase II ESA, soil borings, soil gas monitoring and ground penetrating radar (GPR) was also conducted.

To comply with MSHDA’s requirements, PM Environmental investigated asbestos and lead-based paint issues, noise and vapor encroachment, floodplain status, and all other requirements for eligibility status.  PM oversaw the subsequent asbestos abatement activities as well as the post abatement inspections to affirm that the results were in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Michigan requirements.

“PM worked on this project since the beginning, over four years ago,” said Jon M. Balsamo, Manager of Industrial Hygiene Services at PM Environmental. “It involved several of our services lines, including Due Diligence, Industrial Hygiene Services, and Site Investigation Services. It has been such a privilege to be part of a team involved with the revitalization this building as well as helping bring additional housing to the Midtown area.”

The Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation are awarded every May during National Historic Preservation Month, and chosen by the State Historic Preservation Office and the State Historic Preservation Review Board.  Worthy recipients are those who strive to preserve Michigan’s important historic and cultural resources.

Photo credits: Live Detroit (@TheLIVEDetroit), PM Environmental Archive

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Date

May 24, 2017

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