Award Winning Historic Bungalow Porch Restoration

Madison Trust for Historic Preservation awards TDS Custom Construction for Compatible New Construction on an Historic Bungalow Porch Restoration.

What a transformation!  TDS Custom construction was proud to accept an award from the Madison Trust for Historical Preservation in for an historic bungalow porch restoration.  The Nathaniel Crampton House is located at 625 East Gorham Street here on the isthmus in Madison, WI.  It was built in 1909 on a portion of the lot belonging to the Spangenberg Home next door, which is now a City of Madison landmark.

In spring of 2016 Aleen Tierney and Joe Lusson, who had owned the rental home for about 5 years, contracted us to recreate the front porch.  Though we knew operating an historic porch restoration on busy Gorham Street would present some challenges logistically, we were excited to take on the project and help revitalize another beautiful old home downtown.  TDS worked with city staff to determine the allowable size of the porch, and approval was granted for the design from the city Landmarks Commission due to the home being located next to a city landmark.  The architectural rendering below shows our design with the historical photos we referenced beneath it.

This project and additional repair work to the rotting back porches was partially funded by a Small Cap TIF loan from the City of Madison.  Tax Incremenal Financing, or TIF, is a great program which helps convert rental-units back to an owner-occupied homes (learn more about TIF funding here.)  Throughout the process of obtaining the TIF loan, staff in the city real estate office were exceptionally helpful according to Aleen and Joe.  They chose to focus the funding exclusively on exterior projects to help improve the look of the neighborhood.  Many homes in this neighborhood have tremendous potential despite decades of deferred maintenance, and TIF funding is spurring more restoration work in the area.

The home has since been sold and the new owner-occupants are surely enjoying their porch!  Own a rental property on the isthmus and thinking of renovating or restoring it to it’s former glory?  TDS Custom Construction can help!