Rosemann & Associates, P.C. were presenters at the inaugural revitalization conference Missouri Main Street Connections in Kansas City Missouri on August 19, 2009. Jarrett Cooper and Rob Wagstaff presented Illuminate the Fun in Downtown Living focusing on adaptive reuse of historic downtown architecture and the surrounding urban environment.
Downtowns big and small are usually graced with an excellent stock of historic buildings that are often underused. Jarrett and Rob’s talk had two different elements:
The first part focused on reusing the existing buildings for their maximum potential. Often older buildings have been modified over the years and appear as eyesores to the community. However, irreproducible qualities make them too valuable for demolition and the historical significance makes a valuable connection to the past. Jarrett demonstrated how over the years Rosemann has been able to remake these buildings into valuable contributing economic assets to downtown. They can lead to excellent living, commercial and retail spaces that have a unique vibe and contribute to downtown’s authenticity.
Rob spoke on the importance of the surrounding environment and the necessity of providing good walkable context to compliment rehabbed buildings and ensure their re-fit in the urban fabric. Good urban environments require places that are safe, easy to navigate, comfortable, adaptable or varied, and attractive. These elements when combined with rehabbed historic architecture create the kind of vibrant downtowns that visitors and citizens alike can enjoy. This in turn generates economic activity spurring the ability for more regeneration and new development
Downtowns big and small are usually graced with an excellent stock of historic buildings that are often underused. Jarrett and Rob’s talk had two different elements:
The first part focused on reusing the existing buildings for their maximum potential. Often older buildings have been modified over the years and appear as eyesores to the community. However, irreproducible qualities make them too valuable for demolition and the historical significance makes a valuable connection to the past. Jarrett demonstrated how over the years Rosemann has been able to remake these buildings into valuable contributing economic assets to downtown. They can lead to excellent living, commercial and retail spaces that have a unique vibe and contribute to downtown’s authenticity.
Rob spoke on the importance of the surrounding environment and the necessity of providing good walkable context to compliment rehabbed buildings and ensure their re-fit in the urban fabric. Good urban environments require places that are safe, easy to navigate, comfortable, adaptable or varied, and attractive. These elements when combined with rehabbed historic architecture create the kind of vibrant downtowns that visitors and citizens alike can enjoy. This in turn generates economic activity spurring the ability for more regeneration and new development
After Rosemann’s presentation, a representative from the State of Missouri Department of Natural resources spoke on the different financial tools the state had available for rehabbing historic structures, followed by a tour of Rosemann projects in Kansas City’s Crossroads District. The Conference was well attended, and Rosemann looks forward to attending Missouri Main Street next year.
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