1 High Street | Seaboard Coastline Building

Building Documentation & Scanning
Historic Building Renovation
Historic Research
Historic Tax Credit Consulting

1 High Street | Seaboard Coastline Building

Location

Portsmouth, VA

Partners

The Monument Companies

Fowler Architecture

Virginia Department of Historic Resources

National Park Service

Project Goals

The c1894 Seaboard Coastline Building served as a terminal and headquarters of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. In the 1980s, the building underwent a substantial renovation which transformed the building into a mixed-use property. In 2015, the building underwent a historic rehabilitation tax credit application to position it for continued use as a commercial and residential property.

The developer hired CPG to assist with the tax credit application process to fulfill the vision to establish the building for continued use as a mixed-use commercial and residential property.

Project Design

CPG provided building treatment recommendations to upgrade systems and finishes within existing residential and commercial spaces. Additionally, CPG provided guidance on the removal of a modern addition to the building.

As a result of the project, the building’s residential units were upgraded within the existing layout. Commercial spaces, hallways, and public spaces were retained. The removal of the modern addition allowed for a pool to be inserted in its former location for tenant use.

Challenges & Accomplishments

The building had previously been renovated in 1988, resulting in the removal of a substantial amount of historic materials and finishes and the insertion of several modern additions, including a rooftop addition. At the start of the 2015 project, a limited number of historic features remained.

While there was little historic fabric remaining at the start of the project, the applicant was able to utilize the additional square footage added during the 1980s renovation to meet necessary programming requirements and unit counts, allowing them to remove a one-story, water-facing addition to create a pool deck.