Utah Heritage Foundation

Announced in the December 15th Sugar House Journal, the former Rosslyn Heights Elementary School is reopening as the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts.  Located at 2291 South 2000 East in Salt Lake City, the 1950 school building was vacated about six years ago after consolidation.  Since that time, the school has remained vacant.

UHF toured the building with school district officials in 1999 after the $100 million+ bond was passed and the future of many older school buildings were immediately in doubt.  Our assessment at that time was that Rosslyn Heights was well-maintained and appropriate additions in c. 1955, c. 1980, and c. 1990 were all appropriately done and also in good condition.  At that time, the district had not made a commitment to replace the school building.

The SPA had formerly been housed at Highland High School.  Over the summer, Rosslyn Heights went through a renovation that created optimal space not only for high school students but also the SPA's requirements for dance floors, stages, and production and rehearsal space.  Interestingly, the school also contains a community vet clinic providing vaccinations and licensing at half the cost of a regular veterinarian.

Technical Preservation Services is pleased to announce the launch of our expanded and redesigned website at www.nps.gov/tps. In the new site, you will find the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines; information about the historic preservation tax incentives; all of our
publications, including the Preservation Briefs and Tech Notes; guidance on meeting the Standards in rehabilitation projects; information on the
Historic Surplus Property Program and the Historic Preservation Internship Training program; online training; and much more.  Big-D Construction's rehab of the Fuller Paint Warehouse is one of the featured sites that rotates on the home page.
The new site features expanded information on Sustainability and Historic Preservation, including the recently-published Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation & Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Also included are links to research and studies on energy efficiency and historic buildings and to sustainability resources for home owners, historic districts and communities and Federal agencies.
Case studies highlighting successful tax incentives projects and projects that combined historic rehabilitation and green building practices rotate
on the home page and in several sections of the site. A Site Map has been added, at www.nps.gov/about/site-map.htm, to help users navigate the site.
We will continue to add new information and features, particularly in the Sustainability section. We hope you will explore the new site and visit
often. 
In addition, the fillable PDF version of the Historic Preservation Certification Application, revised 2011, is now available.  Copies of the
forms are attached and are also available on our website at www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives/application.htm.  Please distribute them
widely to your tax program contacts.
Applicants will be able to type directly into the forms and save the information. Please note that the narrative boxes on the Part 1, Part 2,
and amendment forms are limited, not expandable. Applicants and consultants who have developed their own versions of the narrative pages beyond the cover sheets may continue to use their versions.

Utah Heritage Foundation commends The Spectrum for its editorial on July 18, 2011 urging that school buildings be more energy efficient.  But why stop there.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been pointing out for years that the greenest buildings are often those that are already built. 

In a planning meeting for the re-use of Denver’s Emerson School, consultant Jim Dinola, a principal with Green Building Services in Portland, Oregon noted that the energy efficiency of older schools can be improved by doing some of the simple things homeowners do to make old houses more efficient.  These include insulating the attic, tightening windows and doors to eliminate leaks, and making thermostats operable (so that rooms are not heated to 85 degrees while sitting empty overnight, for example). Other energy savings will require more substantial investment, such as the overhaul of the school’s heating and cooling systems.  These retrofits often compare favorably with the cost of new construction.

Older schools in established neighborhoods like East Elementary in St. George, Utah (photo courtesy Washington County Historical Society) can usually be reached safely by pedestrians, reducing traffic and pollution from vehicles.  A recent Preservation Nation blog gave a way to measure the walkability of schools and their neighborhoods using the Active School Neighborhood Checklist (ASNC).  The checklist was born out of the federal Safe Routes To School program. The goal of SRTS is to make it safer and easier for children to walk and bicycle to school. 

New numbers were announced today on the productivity of investment in different sectors of the economy.  Here’s what was reported:

$1 million of government stimulus or incentive results in

                17 jobs in the green economy

The Salt Lake Sustainable Building Conference is offering free self guided tours that do not require conference registration, including a tour of the rehabilitated historic sites at Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park which have won Heritage Awards from UHF.
The Salt Lake Sustainable Building Conference tours are scheduled for May 19th and will include an extra bonus: free refreshments.  RSVP's are appreciated to help with planning as each tour stop offer refreshments to attendees.  Carpooling is encouraged. Tours include:

·        Architectural Nexus Design Center  & Community Sustainability Model
·        Tracy Aviary Tour - Conservation Education through the Built Environment
·        Spectrum Engineers Headquarters Tour - Putting Sustainability to the Test

Read more about the SL Sustainable Building Conference on May 20, 2011.

Register for the full SL Sustainable Building Conference.

Since 2004, UHF has been raising awareness about the historic and architectural significance of the former Salt Lake City Main Library.  Completed in 1964, the style structure originally designed by Edwards & Daniels Architects (now EDA Associates) was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because of the work of UHF and the Utah Division of State History Preservation Office.  Due to a grant from FEMA for seismic upgrade, the project went through the Section 106 process during design arriving at a system of steel framing within the public space of the to be museum space to be.  The Leonardo embarked on the $15 million rehabilitation in January 2010 with a goal to open in Summer 2011.  The current project architect is AJC Architects, Salt Lake City.  As another positive step, the project has been designed with excellent environmental considerations, including historic preservation through materials conservation, and will apply for LEED Gold designation.  In the end, it appears that using the braced frame seismic system, recommended as the preferred option over concrete shear walls by preservationists due to its transparency, will also save the city and The Leonardo money as it will be nearly $300,000 cheaper than the original estimate for concrete shear walls.  A fabulous example of meeting both the goals of preservation and engineering safety is an elegant manner.

We recently toured the building to see the progress and wanted to give you a look at the work in progress.

Top left: View of seismic braced framing.

We recently had the good fortune to get a guided tour of the recently rehabilitated Calvin D. Wilson South American Pavilion in Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City.  This uniquely multi-sided structure to display the equally interesting bird exhibits was designed in 1970 by John N. Clawson.  Severe deterioration and deferred maintenance that reduced overall usability, closed it to public access, and threatened the zoological status of the aviary led them to address the issues.  The building as well as the entire aviary are listed on the Salt Lake City Cultural Register and thus garnered review from the city through the Historic Landmarks Commission.  It has an impressive air handling system to keep the building at optimal temperatures and humidity for the birds as well as keeping the building odor-free for patrons.  We hope you'll agree that the results are breathtaking and extremely enjoyable, and encourage you to visit soon.  The Wilson Pavilion, a work of Utah modernism, is a fabulous example of preservation of the recent past and combination of preservation and sustainability principles as the building has been certified LEED Gold.

We’re excited that Liz Dunn has been selected as one of the keynote speakers at the 2011 Salt Lake Sustainable Building Conference on May 20, 2011.  Dunn is an architect with the Seattle practice Dunn and Hobbes which specializes in urban adaptive use, including historic preservation.  For the last three years, Dunn has also headed up the Preservation Green Lab for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where strategic policies are developed, implemented, and measured for integrating the reuse and retrofitting of older and historic buildings into city and state efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But the Preservation Green Lab is working nationwide on preservation issues.  As an example of their work across the country, recent article appeared in Preservation regarding the use of district energy in West Union, Iowa, where the Preservation Green Lab is measuring the positive impacts on reducing the overall use of energy across the entire town.

The 2011 Salt Lake Sustainable Building Conference will be offering three keynote addresses at this year's event from leaders who tackle issues each in their own way.  Through practical application, advocacy, and inspiration, these addresses offer a balanced and invigorating experience for building professionals, thought leaders and decision makers who see the built environment as one of the keys to Targeting a Sustainable Future on a local, regional & global basis.  The other speakers at this year’s conference will be Ron Jones and Dr. Joseph Cory.

Ogden High School auditorium seats are seeking a good home.  They would prefer another historic auditorium, but a non-profit, historic theater would be a great second choice as well.

As you may know, Ogden High School is currently undergoing an $65 million restoration, so any organization that can purchase these historic seats will have first preference and should make their desire known immediately.  Should a fledgling non-profit or school that is otherwise in the midst of restoring a historic theater or auditorium space and could use donated seats, the Ogden School District and Foundation will look at your proposals on a case-by-case basis.

Contact Gary Reed at the Ogden School District, 801.737.7311 / reedg@ogdensd.org, with your needs and your proposal.

Original Auditorium Seat Description