LEGAL PERSPECTIVES Navigating property laws & regulations
Risks, Remedies for Adaptive Reuse Projects
D
riven by decades of economic and demographic decline, historic buildings in city centers throughout the Midwest are being repurposed. Adaptive reuse emerged as a development concept in the 1970s in response to heritage preservation and environmental movements. It refers to the process of adapting old structures for new purposes.
MARC SANCHEZ
There are many reasons for repurposing existing buildings – urban regeneration, preserving cultural and historical heritage, reducing landfill demolition waste, extended building usefulness and costeffective construction.
The challenges
There are also many challenges. Some of these unique risks of adaptive reuse projects include meeting preservation constraints while satisfying building code requirements to ensure historic registration and tax credits; avoiding damage to the existing structure during renovation; finding original components and compatible materials; and scarcity of specialists to work on outdated materials and systems. Design and construction risks are inherent in these projects. Latent (hidden) defects are concealed deficiencies or problems within the
structure that are not easily discovered. Problematic latent defects can include leaky pipes behind interior walls, hidden faulty electrical work, rusted reinforcing bar, and foundation or other structural deficiencies. Although latent defects can be caused by negligent design, negligent construction or both, any legal claims will have long since expired. Key for the developer is identifying these defects and potential solutions so the remediation costs and time can be budgeted. Typically, cost concerns (and other factors) preclude a developer from performing extensive exploratory site investigation as well as early selective demolition. This, in turn, limits its ability to expose any latent defects that must be corrected during the renovations. These limitations drive up budgeted (and contracted for) construction costs and can cause significant delays to the project schedule. Apart
ALL FLOOR REMOVAL 216.586.1500
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AFR’s mission is to provide commercial floor covering removal services including removal of adhesives, mastics thinsets and other floor coatings turning the project over leaving a clean, bare, fresh floor surface ready for a new coating or polished concrete.
FLOOR PREPARATION SPECIALIST A DIVISION OF CLEVELAND DEMOLITION
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Properties | March 2024