Historic Structure Report, H. P. Dillon House, Topeka, Kansas

Treanor Architects PA; DGM Consultants PA; Terracon

From study summary: "This historic structures report was commissioned to provide a portion of the framework for making long range decisions and plans for the use of the Dillon House. Overall, the framework for making design decisions regarding a historic building can be thought of as a tripod. The three legs of the tripod are: historic considerations, building regulation considerations and the owner’s use considerations. The historic leg of this framework considers information gathered from an assessment of the existing physical condition as well as the historic character and significance of the property. The building regulation leg considers requirements of building codes, accessibility and life safety regulations, which affect all buildings, as well as those regulations that apply to historic properties. And the final leg of this framework is the Owner’s goals for the use of the property. This report focuses on the historic and building regulation considerations and puts forth a recommendation for an appropriate use (one of the Owner’s goals). The State of Kansas has owned the property since 1997 and has utilized it primarily for meeting space. The Kansas Legislature, through Legislative Service has served as manager for the use of the Dillon House. This use is sporadic in nature and confined to the first floor. Buildings that are not regularly occupied tend to suffer from a lack of maintenance, because no one is there to observe problems as they arise. It also is difficult to secure funding for necessary repairs for such spaces when they are competing for funding with more heavily utilized buildings. The Dillon House is in such a situation. Identifying a use and occupants that more fully utilize the house fulfills a State need and is compatible with the structure is a primary goal for this report." Project funding was provided in part by a 2013 Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (project number KS-08-029, grant number 20-08-21721) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Historic Structure Report, H. P. Dillon House, Topeka, Kansas

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