Following on the success of the first year, the Homeowner’s Service Institute and the Democrat and Chronicle selected Fred Tosch to build the 1928 Master Model Home. The 1928 home was built just half a block down from the 1927 home, and was to be accompanied by the simultaneous construction of nine other additional homes on Wimbledon Road. This spectacle of home building activity from the breaking ground of the Master Model Home on June 7, 1928 to the conclusion of the four-week exhibition of the completed and decorative house on October 7, 1928 reportedly drew over 20,000 visitors. Continue reading
preservation
Seasonal Style without the Seasonal Snow
As I write its 65 degrees outside. Spring bulbs and forsythia have begun to emerge for a premature bloom. Rochester has received a whopping 1.2 inches of snow so far this year…and that happened on one night over a month ago. Last year at Christmas there was over a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures were in the single digits…so needless to say “When you’re still waiting for the snow to fall, It doesn’t really feel like Christmas at all.”
Last year I had mainly focused on just getting used to living on my own as Kit was still living outside of Rochester. We had got a bunch of electric candle lights for the windows, but I had to go to my parent’s house to enjoy any decorations beyond that. Continue reading
What We Did Over Summer Staycation
The past six months have been a whirlwind that only recently subsided, allowing me a chance to sit down and write about everything that happened this summer and fall at My Perfect Little Money Pit. My sincerest apologies to all the readers out there who have been waiting for an update. The vinyl came down in May with the goal of completing all work by October 1st so that all documentation could be submitted for the rehabilitation tax credit program here in New York State. The necessity of submitting this documentation for the anticipated 20% tax credit is predicated on the fact that MPLMP was officially listed in the New York State Register of Historic Places in September! It is currently under review by the National Park Service for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and a decision should be made within a few weeks. The validation that MPLMP is significant enough to be individually listed on the National Register is a true honor and testament to its unique history.
Eligible to Register
As I mentioned in the last post, I had some visitors over to see the house in the hopes of pursuing listing on the National Register of Historic Places. You might be asking why…so I’ll tell you.
The National Register of Historic Places is the federal list of districts, sites, buildings, and structures deemed worthy of preservation. Established in 1966 as part of the National Historic Preservation Act, the register is an honorary distinction that does NOT prohibit a property owner from altering their property in any way they see fit (including demolition). What it does protect is any listed property from being altered or adversely affected by any project that utilizes federal funds without due-process and oversight from the State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service. Also, your property does not have to be a building of national significance, instead the whole goal of the register is to instill pride and spread knowledge of communities’ cultural heritage at a local level. Where it gets more enticing are the Rehabilitation Tax Credits offered at the State and Federal levels. The rehabilitation tax credits seek to incentivize the revitalization of historic properties and communities. In New York State the combined tax credits available for the rehabilitation of income producing properties that are listed on the National Register is a whopping 40% of the construction costs. This rehabilitation tax credit system is one of only a few government tax incentive programs that actually nets a significant return on investment, but don’t take my word for it, check out what others more knowledgeable than me have proven about it.
Let the Games Begin
So, many things have happened these first few weeks (I started writing this post over two weeks ago…life has been crazy). MPLMP has a full time resident, but it’s not me…and I had some visitors come to study the house in the hopes that I might get it on the National Register of Historic Places. During all of this and to continue on until who knows when, work has begun in earnest on making this perfect little money pit, my perfect little money pit.
Kit and I, with much appreciated help from MPLMP’s first resident, Joshua (more on him later), have begun the process of repainting all of the rooms of the house. Many of the rooms either feature near colorless beiges, flaking and peeling paint, or just plain dirty old walls in colors I could do without. The first room we decided to tackle was the medium bedroom.
Seen here right before we started painting.
My Perfect Little Money Pit 