On Saturday, April 24, 2010, City of Detroit residents with older and historic homes will be afforded the unique opportunity to participate in one stop shopping with area home repair/preservation specialists. These pre-screened specialists with knowledge and experience of the needs of historic homes will exhibit their expertise
Invited home preservation specialists have skills that
include:
- Masonry repair and restoration
- Wet Plaster repair and replacement
- Painting of both exteriors and interiors
- Plumbing, heating, and cooling service
- Landscaping
- Window repair and restoration
- Roofing
- Electrical upgrades and updating
- Wood floor refinishing
A representative from the Detroit Historic District Commission will be on hand to answer questions about obtaining building permits or any other matter pertaining to historic. Someone will also be available from the State of Michigan to answer questions about what you must do to get the State historic tax credit for work performed on your home. The tax credit program offers significant tax savings on major projects.
Additionally, representatives of banks and lending institutions will be on hand to discuss low interest home improvement loans, lines of credit, home equity loans and mortgage refinancing.
The 2010 Home Preservation Fair will be held in the expansive gymnasium of the historic Sacred Heart Seminary, 2701 Chicago Boulevard at Linwood in Detroit. Free parking is provided via the Linwood entrance. The Fair begins at noon and concludes at 5:00 p.m.
Admission to the Fair is free. A registration fee is required for invited home repair/preservation specialists.
In addition to the exhibiting contractors, informational workshops and community forums on best practices will be presented. In addition to the exhibiting contractors, informational workshops and community
forums on best practices will be presented.
CONTRACTORS REGISTER NOW!
Registration for the Home Preservation Fair is only $75.00. For more information, see our Contractor-Exhibitor Registration
page.
ATTENTION: RESIDENTS OF DETROIT'S HISTORIC DISTRICTS
You are invited to share the names and contact information of reputable, licensed contractors for participation in the Home Preservation Fair. Please phone (313) 867- 3112 or forward an email via bostonedison@gmail.com.
BEST PRACTICES WORKSHOP SCHEDULE - REGISTER TODAY!
NOON - 1:00 P.M.
"THE PALMER WOODS PROCESS"
In 2008, some streets in Detroit's Palmer Woods neighborhood were blocked in a test study to determine traffic flow impact, particularly on cut-through traffic from 7 Mile and Woodward.
Cut-through traffic - generally non-resident transient traffic - is often cited as an opportunity for crime and criminal activity within a community. Since the traffic study, the Palmer Woods
Association has received approval from Detroit's City Council for their Neighborhood Traffic Plan. The Plan involves the closure of select streets to create new traffic patterns. Palmer Woods
President, Craig Vanderburg will share the Palmer Woods Process. This best practices workshop serves as an example for every neighborhood association seeking to enact change in their
respective community. Interested attendees are urged to register early for this session.
1:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M.
"DO IT YOURSELF! SAVE IT YOURSELF!"
Do you know how to evaluate & assess your historic home project? Do you know how to decide whether or not it is in the range of your skills & abilities? Do you know how to determine what features are worth saving? Are you interested in discovering what you can do yourself? Then... out with the new, and in with the old! Boston-Edison residents David and Dawn Johnson, whose home has previously been featured h on the annual Historic Boston-Edison Association's
Holiday Homes Tour, will share their personal experiences as staunch "do-it-yourself" restoration advocates.
2:00 P.M. -3:00 P.M.
"SUCCESSFUL HOME LOAN MODIFICATION"
Antoinette Gray, Housing Director of nationally recognized community development corporation (CDC), Central Detroit Christian will present the step by step process that homeowners should take in seeking to modify their existing home loan. Central Detroit Christian CDC possesses a phenomenal success rate of 73% in securing loan modifications (compared to the national average of 16%) for homeowners seeking assistance.
3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
"HOW TO MONITOR AND TRACK HOME REPAIRS TO CLAIM A STATE OF MICHIGAN HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT"
A 2008 Governor's Award for Historic Preservation recipient, Boston-Edison resident, Cynthia Reaves will share with you how to successfully prepare a major preservation tax credit report which will be well-received by the state of Michigan. Ms. Reaves will share the nuts and bolts approach a homeowner must take (and sometimes forgets to document) in preparing reports. Ms. Reaves will also identify strategies to use when people forget to take the necessary pictures to document repairs.
4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
"BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT CURB APPEAL ON A BUDGET"
Boston-Edison resident Leonard Xerri, of Leonard Xerri Interiors, whose home was featured on the 2009 Boston-Edison Holiday Homes Tour will share invaluable - yet affordable decorating
and design tips for the exterior of your historic home. Leonard will discuss, yard care, landscaping and facade design. This is a must attend workshop for new as well as established homeowners who desire beautiful and elegant surroundings.
All workshops are free and open to the public. There is limited seating capacity, however. Please register to ensure your seat by email: bostonedison@gmail.com or by phone: 313.883.4360.
