Upcoming Meetings
Monday, October 2, 7 p.m.
When a neighborhood or property becomes designated as an official “historic district,” as approved by a city council and the State of Michigan, what does that mean for new construction in that neighborhood? How does it impact exterior home additions? How does it change the exterior styles of new homes or buildings that can be built in the area?
There is a lot of confusion about new construction in historic districts. Learn the facts by attending Preservation Dearborn’s Monday, October 2, meeting that will feature Architect J. Michael Kirk.
Mike Kirk is a principal and partner at Hannah-NeumannSmith. He is a certified historical architect with more than 43 years of experience. He specializes in adaptive reuse and historic preservation, bringing new life to obsolete spaces. Some of his projects can be seen in Dearborn, including Wagner Place and City Hall Artspace Lofts. He’s worked on landmark buildings throughout the area such as Detroit’s Wright-Kay Building, Cornice & Slate Building, Cadillac Tower and Madison Building.
He'll be sharing a presentation that was prepared for the Michigan Historic Preservation Network to train people who serve on Historic District Commissions. These commissioners are the people who have design review authority in the 80 Michigan communities that have historic district ordinances.
Mike’s key points are understanding the difference between appropriate "styles" and "urban design characteristics" (which are a more "objective" measure of "contextual design.") Examples will be given of the various types of characteristics along with "do's & don’ts" relative to new architectural details being introduced into existing historic neighborhoods
The meeting will be held at the Dearborn Historical Museum, 915 S. Brady. It will also be available on Preservation Dearborn's Facebook page.