Before and After

Montgomery Street is home to some of the most charming and elegant properties in the city. This is another before and after from Mr. Drew Kartiganer who has rehabbed many homes in the city including homes on Catherine and Liberty Streets. As you can see this building looks like a burned out shell that nobody would want to live in. Mr. Kartiganer and his team transformed this derelict building with its mansard roof and wrought iron details into a home for 3 families. Thanks for sharing Drew!

The building was in such horrible condition that Mr. Kartiganer says, “When I walked the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Officer) guy through it one day before it was chosen to be part of the project, he walked without concern and put his leg through the floor, pulled it out and said do whatever you want with it.”

No one’s foot is going through the floor now! The floors are sound and the staircase isn’t tipping. A world of a difference inside and out! Other great news for those of you that don’t know this block, the home to the right was saved a year after this project was done. As Mr. Kartiganer said, “another example of when good things are done…good things happen.”

It’s been over a decade since this renovation has been completed. It’s easy to forget the impact of renovations after they have been around a while. Saving historical housing stock is crucial to the revitalization of Newburgh. They are the city’s best assets. Just a few doors down to the right are 2 homes (that used to be 1) that are some of the oldest homes in Newburgh that are falling into disrepair. If you love what Mr. Kartiganer has done here, please consider rehabbing a home like this, to live in. Newburgh needs more homeowners and there are plenty of lovely buildings that aren’t such a large project as 109 Montgomery. Thanks Drew Kartiganer for sharing!

If you have your own before and after photos to share of your home exterior or interior and would like to share it on Newburgh Restoration, please email me.

One of our Rescue Me homes has been rescued! When homes have been abandoned for a very long time the roof caves in and water damage wreaks havoc on floorboards and walls. Looking at the home from the outside you would have absolutely no clue how nasty this building actually was. Nasty is an understatement. William Bollinger of Spectrum Development did the work on this home and provided the interior photos.

Today the building looks nothing like it did 2 years ago! William Street still has a very long ways to go to bring back quaint shops and cafes. With that in mind Mr. Bollinger said that he chose to make the storefront space an apartment, but if the market can change for William Street, he’d be open to putting a store back into this space. Both of his units are available for rent at 63 William Street. Each has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Contact him here: 516-821-2040, Spectrumdevelopment@hotmail.com.

If you have your own before and after photos to share of your home exterior or interior and would like to share it on Newburgh Restoration, please email me.

Back in March we shared how 51 William Street was going before the ARC to approve exciting changes to make this abandoned storefront back into a store. A few months later and there is indeed a store in place! During Newburgh’s decline many of the storefronts have been turned into apartments. Bringing these commercials spaces back is the first step in revitalizing William Street which used to be a shopping district.

Latinos make up a huge portion of the population in Newburgh. Not only are they making their mark, but they are helping the local economy starting mom and pop shops. The sign outside says, “Lechonera y Cuchifrito La Braza, Lechon Azado y Mas.” If you love pork, try it out! Let’s hope this becomes a trend.

Bottom photo © Jillian Elder, Victory Designs

A quick glance at 83 Ann Street would make you think that the developer just put in new windows, a door and siding. However, this project was no walk in the park. William Bollinger of Spectrum Development sent over this makeover. No doubt he rescued this property. How many people do you know would have walked in here and walked right back out?! I love these houses on Ann Street, if only they could all be rehabbed like this.

Here are the interior transformations. William said the house was built circa 1820. He tried to salvage materials when possible, like these wide plank floors that were painted. They took him forever to sand and refinish.

Regarding the brick you see removed below William said that it wasn’t real brick, but a plastic veneer. It also makes the room look so much brighter. Well done!

Here are some more nasty before pictures just so we all can appreciate home much work was done here.

A few more after photos of the different units:

These historic homes have character that can never be replaced. If you have your own before and after photos to share of your home exterior or interior and would like to share it on Newburgh Restoration, please email me.

Here is another amazing before and after courtesy of architect Mr. Drew Kartiganer. He also worked on 9-11 Catherine Street and 246 Liberty Street. As you can see from the photos 238-240 was a complete shell with a collapsed roof and collapsed interior floors. They were purchased for a total of $1000. According to Drew they probably were not even worth that unless there was an understanding of how to renovate them back to effective use. These were part of 4 devastated historic buildings shells on the block facing Liberty Street from Third Street to Catherine Street.

And here are some nice pictures we don’t normally get to see, the people who worked on these buildings to make them happen. According to Drew, “most of the guys were from the inner City of Newburgh. They did all the demo, framing and all the other labor we needed on it, including helping on all the other trades and all the site work. The one with the guy on the roof outside shows the fascia that we had to work with to rebuild…total burnt stuff.”

Here is a close up of the fascia. Regarding the work done here Drew says, “we built that on the ground and then just put it up after we painted it. [This] shows the fascia on the ground before we installed it. That was one of the cool things on this project.”

The final product: a building saved from urban renewal and neglect. Once these buildings are gone they can never be replaced and they help maintain the character of historic Newburgh for generations to come. This building has about 5,500 sf of living space and has 4 apartments: 2 two bedrooms and a 3 bedroom and a 4 bedroom. As Drew says, these rehab projects show “what Newburgh could be.” There are about 700 other abandoned and vacant buildings in Newburgh if you would like to restore your own.

And here is a reminder of what this block used to look like:

If you have your own before and after photos to share of your home exterior or interior and would like to share it on Newburgh Restoration, please email me.

Here is another amazing before and after post courtesy of architect, Mr. Drew Kartiganer. He describes the home as  having a French Mansard roof and a classic Beaux Arts plan that was probably designed by Calvert Vaux.  It is 3,200 sq ft with an addition in the rear. As you will be able to see in the photo above and many others this building probably had a date with a wrecking ball. The entire interior and exterior was decomposing and again, Mr. Kartiganer shared many before, during and after photos.

Mr. Kartiganer and his team paid close attention to detail as they began to work on the roof and exterior. The roof had to be rebuilt and the slate shingles were restored with real slate that was cut in a hexagonal shape to replicate the original historic roof.

The after result is simply breathtaking! Everything was completed back in 2001/2002. Drew says that they stripped the paint, removed asbestos and salvaged the only wood left which was the fascia details. He also said it was hard work to restore these homes but he would love to do another. This home is now a two family building. Much better than a 6 family home that many mansions turn into.

And here is Drew Kartiganer, sitting inside one of the units, probably ecstatic to have completed the rehabilitation of another Newburgh home that would’ve otherwise been destroyed. Thanks Drew for sharing!

And as a teaser for our next Before and After post also courtesy of Drew Kartiganer, you can see 246 Liberty to the left, and the next post will include a before and after of 238-240 Liberty Street. Fixing these homes has immensely helped the stabilization of Liberty Street. If you are interested, the middle property is for sale, and there are hundreds of other homes like these in Newburgh that can be saved.

If you have your own before and after photos to share of your home exterior or interior and would like to share it on Newburgh Restoration, please email me.