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Consultant outlines code, grant and financing tools to convert Pontiac downtown upper floors to housing
Summary
Architect and preservation consultant Paul Charnette advised Pontiac building owners on using the International Existing Building Code, performance-compliance scoring, historic tax credits, TIF, façade grants and revolving loans to make second-floor apartments feasible; he estimated full gut rehabs around $400 per square foot and pointed to local case studies.
Paul Charnette, principal and director of operations at Hune Studio, told a packed community presentation in Pontiac that converting underused second floors above downtown storefronts into housing is achievable if owners combine the right code strategy with targeted financial incentives.
"I'm the principal and director of operations at Hune Studio," Charnette said, opening his presentation and later describing a mix of compliance paths and funding sources that can close typical ‘‘funding gaps’’ on adaptive-reuse projects. He urged property owners to consider the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) rather than defaulting to the new-construction International Building Code (IBC), because the IEBC offers prescriptive, work-area and performance-compliance paths that can reduce the need for expensive infrastructure such as full sprinkler systems.
Charnette illustrated the performance path as a scoring system that evaluates fire safety, means of egress and general safety. By upgrading lower-cost systems—automatic detection and alarm systems, compartmentation and HVAC…
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