COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The State Historic Preservation Office has awarded the City of Coldwater and the Coldwater Community Center an $18,000 grant for an architectural and engineering project at the building known as the Beech House.
Representatives from the Coldwater Community Center plan to hire a consultant to undertake a structural analysis of the building’s first floor and three additional areas. The analysis and final report will include building measurements, detailed explanations of structural issues, and a thorough list of recommendations and specifications for repair.
They say the report will help inform future redevelopment and continuous improvements at the Community Center.
Located next to the northeast corner of 4 Corners Park, the Beech House has been a fixture in the community for 160 years and appears on the logos of the City of Coldwater as well as the Coldwater Main Street program. Since buying the building in 2020, the City has invested over $80,000 into roof repairs and exterior improvements o the former Putnam Funeral Home Building. It has been been leased to the Coldwater Community Center since 2022. The Coldwater Community Center is a nonprofit organization working to further restore the structure to create space for multicultural events and programs.
As the building owner, the City will finance the project on behalf of the Community Center and will be repaid in full once the grant is disbursed in 2025.
“We are grateful to the State Historic Preservation Office for their support. Our historic building is beautiful but needs a good analysis of its structure to make it as safe as possible going forward,” said Kathleen Bappert, Coldwater Community Center Board President.
The project was eligible for funding based on the City’s designation as a Certified Local Government, which it achieved in 2023. Certified Local Governments are counties, townships, cities or villages that partner with the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service to preserve their historic and cultural resources.
Becoming a CLG and applying for funds on behalf of local projects is part of ongoing downtown revitalized efforts and a local commitment to historic preservation, and helps achieve the Coldwater Main Street Transformation Strategy.
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