River City Apartments, Mason City Iowa

River City Apartments, Mason City
Henkel, and its subsidiary Accord Architecture started working with the Owner two years prior to any demolition to help place the former YMCA building on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Owner was able to benefit from tax incentives and the community has another building in the downtown area preserved.  The low to moderate income level apartments are important to the community and were a natural adaptive re-use of this four-story building.  The gymnasium was split into two-stories of apartment space, while the racquetball courts were converted into an indoor parking garage.  Originally the third and fourth floors were comprised of narrow apartments for men.  Some of these apartment walls, constructed of brick, were preserved, including the corridor walls.  An important aspect of working with a building on the National Register of Historic Places is to maintain the exterior façade and windows. Our team was given an award for historic preservation for this project.