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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD From finding a new use for a historic building to building a new home to match the architecture of the neighborhood, 18 individuals and businesses were honored last week by the Springfield Preservation Trust during its annual recognition of preservation and restoration efforts in the city. About 30 people gathered at Tower Square on May 17 for the awards ceremony and to view an exhibit of photos of the buildings cited this year and past award winners. Sarah Murray, the president of the non-profit Trust, said there has not been as much preservation and restoration work she would have liked to see done in the city in the last 18 months. She also said that the number of such projects don't measure up to the activity seen in the city 20 years ago. She said that part of the decline is that there aren't as many abandoned buildings in Springfield which she said showed progress as there were in the 1980s when many people "seized the opportunity" to undertake a restoration. There are also fewer low-cost projects as well. Murray added that presently there is not real tax advantage for an owner/occupant to undertake a restoration project, which she sees as a deterrent. Historic preservation is one element which can draw people back to Springfield, Murray explained. Murray said that there is still plenty of work to be done saving the city's historic buildings and homes. Part of the photo exhibit was a list of endangered buildings, which included the horse stables at the Armory, a home at 52 Westminster St., a section of the former Indian Motocycle building that was not converted into apartments, and the carriage house on Edwards Street, which city officials believe should be demolished. Of that property, Murray said that it could still be saved, although at the building's present condition, the project would be "more difficult and costly." "We have an incredible history of transportation. It could be a museum," she said. The award winners for 2005 were: Michael Talbot for the restoration of the front porch of a home built in 1898 at 64 Washington St.; Peter and Melissa Picknelly for the addition of a new conservatory on a 1929 home at 330 Park Dr.; Carmen Morales for removing the vinyl siding on a home at 20 Lafayette St.; Michael Rheault and Matthew Jaquith for the removal of a non-original addition at 47 Garfield St.; John Appleton for the exterior restoration of 36 Crestwood St.; Belle Franklin Limited Partnership for the apartment renovation of 290 and 292-298 Franklin St.; Muhammad's Development Corp, for the exterior renovation of a 1869 Italinate house at 34 Florida St.; HAP, Inc. for sensitive new construction at 40 Florida St.; Newcourt Terrace LLC. For the apartment restoration at 68-70, 76 and 84 Byers St.; Gary Lewis for home restorations at 68 and 119 Yale St.; Ashford Place Winn LLC for the renovation of the 1929 Sheraton Hotel at 70 Chestnut St. into the Museum Park Apartments; David Bell and Ivette Cruz for the adaptive reuse of 34 Mulberry St.; Springfield Technical Community College for the renovation of the Armory's Building 11 built in 1840; Historic New England for the relocation of the Alexander House from State Street to Eliot Street. The Trust also honored Hank Thorburn, Paul Nukols, Bob Smith and Ed Forest as "carpenters excelling in historic restoration." Fran Gagnon, former chair of the city's Historic Commission, was presented the Donald Campion Award for her years of service to historic preservation. |