#Save506Virginia: Lessons Learned, What's next?

#Save506Virginia is more than a public relations hashtag. It is a symbol of our efforts to make a difference that will impact our well being and the well being of future generations. It represents an example of what we can do together as agents of change and represents a true victory for the historic preservation movement in our city.

Saving this historic structure took a collective effort, starting with a few of our City Council members who decided to think out of the box; followed by city staff members who provided us the chance to study the buildings and propose a solution. It also represents the efforts of Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) in conjunction with Missouri Preservation who obtained a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to hire an expert engineer on historic structures from KC to inspect the buildings and recommend a course of action. It represents the efforts of business owners and downtown residents who expressed their support for preserving this historic building through social media. It represents the unanimous decision of our City Council members who decided to get involved in the rehabilitation of our downtown dedicating resources to the process. 

But it also represents the hard work of every member of our team and every subcontractor hired to execute parts of the plan. Labor day of 2018 marked the day when we started this project, saving a large colony of bees that had made their downtown home inside one of the abandoned sky bridges. Approximately, 80,000 bees were moved to new homes and 50 pounds of honey comb was saved to feed them through the winter.

Then for few months, Mike Robison and his demolition crew at Robison Construction from Girard, KS (truly masters of their work as shown in the video below) executed the demolition of 508 Virginia with precision and care. With their help, our crew recycled more than 17,000 clay bricks which represents approximately 4 metric tons of sequestered carbon dioxide. Some of those bricks were reused to repair the exterior north wall of 506 Virginia.

At the same time, Dooley Roofing took on the job of giving #506Virginia a new white reflective roof, contributing to global cooling efforts and lowering our city's outside temperature.

Terry Donaldson and his crew at Best Windows Best Price (master carpenters) rebuilt damaged portions of the interior three floors of #506Virginia. The carbon cost of this preserving this structure was kept low by only replacing the wood that was damage from years of water intrusion.

Finally, Short Creek Construction, from Galena, KS, built the steel structural reinforcement that support the only remaining walls from 508 Virginia. It reminds us that we should all save what we can.

All the hard work of these talented craftsmen represents a testimony of their commitment to historic preservation. This work plus the support of so many in the Joplin community is very inspiring.

But, there were also many lessons learned throughout this project:

• We shouldn't wait for the roofs of historic properties to collapse before taking action. Empty or abandoned historic properties are valuable assets for the sustainability and future of our city.
• As a city, we should develop policies that help property owner to get the technical and financial support they need to redevelop their properties. If they are not willing or not able to do so, we should help them find the right investor(s) with a plan that helps the overall growth of our community; holding properties without taking care of them is a selfish way to obstruct the renewal of Joplin's historic heart.
• We should be proactive and creative stewards of our city's infrastructure and historic assets. The Olivia Apartments, The Robinson Apartments, The Downtown YMCA, Joplin's Carnegie Library -just to mention a few of our amazing historic assets- deserve to be save as we did it with the #506Virginia-Christman Building.

Today we finished phase one of this project. What is next for #506Virginia? It is still in the planning stages. However, with the commitment of our city officials and the support of the larger community, we will make this place shine again as an example of sustainability in our city. Let's keep imagining the possibilities. Together let's restore the heart of our city as a welcoming place for all. Giving these 100-year-old buildings a better next century!