Architectural and Structural Condition Assessment of the Kalamazoo Water Tower

Nehil Sivak Consulting Structural Engineers; ; Diekema Hamann Architecture and Engineering; Building Restoration, Inc.

From introduction: "The City of Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo community are interested in preserving the historic Kalamazoo Water Tower located on the grounds of the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tower is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Michigan Historical Center (MHC) in the Department of History, Arts and Libraries currently owns the Kalamazoo Water Tower, while the grounds of the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital are currently owned by Western Michigan university. The MHC contracted with the City of Kalamazoo to complete a condition assessment report. The City of Kalamazoo in turn has retained the team of Nehil Sivak Consulting Structural Engineers, Diekema Hamann Architecture and Engineering, and Building Restoration, lnc. to complete the assessment. The purpose of the condition assessment has been to gauge current and future needs for maintenance and repair of the tower, and estimate their likely costs. One concept for continued use and maintenance of the water tower would be for the Michigan Historical Center to continue as owner of the water tower but for the City of Kalamazoo to provide funding for ongoing operational maintenance and repair needs. The funding may come from an endowment to be created by the citizens of Kalamazoo. A local group, Friends of the Historic Kalamazoo Water Tower, has been formed to raise funds for the preservation and maintenance of the tower.This condition assessment report identifies the current and likely future costs associated with maintenance and repair so that appropriate fund raising goals for such an endowment can be established and the viability of that approach assessed." Funding for this project was provided in part through a fiscal year 2007 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Kalamazoo (project number MI-07-029) administered by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 26-07-21626) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Kalamazoo, Michigan is a Certified Local Government.

Architectural and Structural Condition Assessment of the Kalamazoo Water Tower

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