Adaptive Reuse Preservation Efforts Give Mid-century Building New Life in Bloomfield, Iowa

BLOOMFIELD, Iowa, Dec. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Fall of 2021 brought a completion to a much talked-about, year-long construction project in Bloomfield, Iowa. The Goodhill Company oversaw the project at 202 North Madison Street, creating an office space to house the headquarters of three companies. The Fenton is being touted as "a model for what preservation can and should be", involving creative, inclusive, and sustainable reuse of a community treasure into local job creation, bringing life and vitality to a once vacant space. The visionary people behind this innovative adaptive reuse are Levi Good and Justin Hill.

Good and Hill partnered together to form The Goodhill Company to take on projects they felt were often overlooked by other real estate developers. After much consideration, they selected their first project, The Fenton (previously known as the Fenton Medical Building) in the Bloomfield Main Street district. This Mid-century building has a long history within the Bloomfield and Davis County community, evoking many memories to residents and patients of the clinic; it is referred to as "iconic" by many locals.

The Fenton sat vacant for several years following the closing of the Fenton Medical Building until purchased in 2020 by Goodhill Company for renovations. Justin and Levi share a deep commitment to giving back to their community and wanted to preserve as many of the historical characteristics of the space as possible. One of the benefits to being a Main Street community is the design assistance received from Main Street Iowa/IEDA to come up with the concepts of exterior changes and interior space usage.

No detail was left untouched or considered too small to matter. Goodhill's contractor, J & S Residential Remodeling, repurposed the original, round check-in counter & nurses' station into a beautiful coffee bar on one side and a printer/office supply station on the other, saving much of the original wood detail and matching the existing where new was required. 1950s airport replica art on display gives the sense of stepping back in time, all while utilizing the high-level technological capabilities made available from the local telecom and other area service providers, which allow the building's inhabitants to maintain a competitive edge for business innovation. The Fenton project is an outstanding example of historic preservation, where the developers are leading by example of what good design and historic building ownership involve.

The ability to develop solid and lasting partnerships led them to the next project, The Hill Block. This set of historical buildings were at risk of collapse when the City of Bloomfield took possession of 113 S Madison in 2018 and 112 S Madison in 2019, stabilizing them until a suitable developer could be found. Goodhill Company understood the significant development opportunity for the community of Bloomfield to transform this block of historic, at-risk structures into three new businesses and six much-needed upper story housing units. This restoration will return to service more than 10,000 square feet of commercial and residential space to the community. The businesses planned for the spaces will provide 20+ jobs, many paying at/or above regional standards.

"We were very honored that our recent Bloomfield Main Street application was an award recipient of the Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant of $100,000, helping make this million-dollar project happen," stated Hill. This was the fifth successful Challenge Grant the Bloomfield Main Street organization has been awarded, leveraging more than $750,000 in private investment downtown. The funds will go toward a new roof for all three buildings and assist with rehabilitating the interior commercial spaces. Goodhill Company has prioritized the use of as many local contractors as possible to keep the money in the local economy. They also connected with Area 15 RPC for grant writing and Bloomfield Main Street for design assistance to make this project a reality.

Whether it is transforming neglected historic properties into new, vibrant, and relevant spaces, or developing new construction with an eye toward long-term planning and sustainability, forging strong and lasting partnerships with local organizations and municipalities is a core value that makes Goodhill projects stand out above the rest. Hill states, "We can't wait to see you downtown!"

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The Goodhill Company: Improving cities, Improving neighborhoods, Improving lives.

Media Contact

Mary Wells, The Goodhill Company, +1 641-895-2088, [email protected]

SOURCE The Goodhill Company