ReUse Study HOME  --  GOALS & WORK PLAN  --  REUSE STUDY TEAM MEMBERS  --  RESOURCES
         PRELIMINARY FINDINGS  --  EXPO SURVEY RESULTS 
                JUNE PUBLIC MEETING RESULTS:   maps/photos (large pdf file) -  community input

The Reuse Team

The team assembled for the Annandale School ReUse Study offers unparalleled experience in the assessment, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings.  Team members have also demonstrated their collective commitment to community-driven, process oriented planning through past participation in more than two dozen historic properties reuse studies, Minnesota Design Team visits, and a host of design charrettes intended to capture the imagination and vision of community members.

John Lauber

Architectural Historian/ Preservation Planner

Master of Arts, Historic Preservation Planning, Cornell University

John Lauber will serve as Co-principal Investigator for the Annandale School ReUse Study and his firm, John Lauber and Company LLC, will serve as prime contractor.  John exceeds the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for both History and Architectural History.

Since beginning his historic preservation career in 1991, John has amassed unusually extensive and varied experience in the field, completing cultural resource surveys, designation studies, historic context narratives, documentation projects, historic properties reuse studies, and Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit applications for historic properties located throughout Minnesota and in ten other states.  He has served as an intern for the Minneapolis and St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commissions, and has worked for a private cultural resource management firm, a large engineering company, and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.  From 1993 to 2008, he served as a guest lecturer at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) College of Design.  He established an independent preservation consulting practice in 2003.  Earlier this year, John entered into a long-term contract with the Minnesota State Energy Office to review grant-funded energy efficiency projects to ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

A strong proponent of community-based planning and problem solving, John has participated in nearly two dozen historic properties reuse studies, most of them in collaboration with Robert Claybaugh.  He has been an active member of the Minnesota Design Team; participating in four design charrettes and three screening visits.  John has completed projects for federal, state and local government agencies, educational and cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and private developers in in Minnesota and nine other states.  Clients have come to expect extraordinarily thorough research and documentation, accessible and engaging written reports, highly polished visual and oral presentations, and careful attention to detail throughout every project.

John’s experience includes reuse studies for school buildings in projects Red Wing, Morris, International Falls, and Chaska, as well as a historic structures report for the Lamar School in rural Polk County, Wisconsin.  He was project manager for a 2010 reuse study of the Kasson Public School, which pioneered the use of a dedicated project website to maximize the involvement of the community in the reuse study process.  He has written about the reuse study process and its application to school buildings for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota; has given presentations on the process to statewide preservation conferences in Minnesota and Kansas, and planned a conference on school preservation during his tenure with the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.

Robert Claybaugh, AIA

Historical Architect

Robert Claybaugh will serve as Co-principal Investigator for the Annandale School Study. Bob exceeds the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for Historic Architecture.  Bob is a licensed architect in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

Claybaugh Preservation Architecture Inc (CPAi), founded in 1989, provides outstanding architectural and technical services for owners and managers of historic buildings and sites.  CPAi also provides consulting services to design professionals, and training for historic preservation professionals and laypeople.  Principal Robert J. Claybaugh has extensive experience with preservation projects and a demonstrated commitment to preserving our built environment.

Bob Claybaugh has worked to preserve schools, colleges, churches, courthouses, banks, and other public buildings in the Midwest and throughout the United States.  His involvement has ranged from historic research at the inception of the project to providing contract documents and construction supervision once the required work is under way.  Working with the client, CPAi will develop an appropriate scope of work for preservation projects of any size and budget.

Claybaugh Preservation Architecture has provided restoration design services for Minnesota Historic Society properties at Lindbergh Boyhood Home, Historic Fort Snelling, Sibley House Historic Site, Split Rock Lighthouse, Folsom House, Historic Forestville, Lower Sioux Agency and North West Fur Post.  Other historic site experience includes the Washington County Historic Courthouse, the Mabel Tainter Memorial Auditorium and the Robert A. Long Mansion.

Bob’s experience includes reuse studies for school buildings in projects Red Wing, Morris, International Falls, and Chaska, as well as a historic structures report for the Lamar School in rural Polk County, Wisconsin.

Gene Dwyer

Structural Engineer

Gene Dwyer, PE, of LS Engineers in Le Sueur will serve as a structural consultant for the Annandale Reuse Study on an as-needed basis, reviewing existing conditions documents and schematic design to identify structural issues.  Gene has worked on a number of previous preservation projects, including buildings at the Lower Sioux Agency near Redwood Falls; Split Rock Lighthouse; Historic Fort Snelling; and several structures at the Charles Lindberg National Historic Landmark.  He recently collaborated with the Co-principal investigators on studies at the Stoppel Farmstead in Rochester, the Ayer House at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum in Onamia, and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Red Wing. 

Engineering Design Initiative

Mechanical and electrical analysis

EDI is a mechanical and electrical engineering firm headquartered in Minneapolis.  The firm has worked with the Co-principal investigators on several previous Reuse Studies and Structures Reports.  EDI will consult with the team on an as-needed basis to evaluate mechanical and electrical systems in the 1922 building and suggest improvements for increasing its efficiency with a specific focus on sustainability.

Doug Holmber

Estimator

Cost estimates for proposed work on the Annandale School building will be prepared by Doug Holmber of Professional Project Management, a Twin Cities-based construction management firm whose experienced staff has worked with the project team on a number of projects completed for the Minnesota Historical Society and a number of other recent projects.

Jon Commers

Financial Analyst

Jon is principal of Donjek, a multi-faceted, Public Finance, Project Management, and Public Policy consulting firm based in St. Paul.  Jon translates public finance and economics, planning and urban design concepts, and perception of cultural and political dynamics into effective project management and redevelopment strategy. Commers is tasked with identifying and aligning the ingredients of successful urban places as founder and principal of Donjek, and as a member of the Metropolitan Council, the regional governance agency for the Minneapolis Saint Paul area.

Jon was appointed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to represent Saint Paul on the Metropolitan Council, where he chairs the Land Use Advisory Committee and is a member of the Transportation and Community Development Committees. He served on the Saint Paul Planning Commission for six years, where he was elected chair. Jon is also a co-founder of Strong Towns, a virtual nonprofit organization focused on improving the fiscal health of communities through productive land use.

Jon will help the team assess local market conditions, identify tax credits, incentive programs and revenue streams that will contribute to a successful reuse of the 1922 building.  He will prepare pro formas for the final report.

1922 BUILDING REUSE STUDY - HOME page for the ReUse Study

GOALS & WORK PLAN - Details about the process that will take place for this Reuse Study to find a new use for the soon to be vacated 1922 School building.

REUSE STUDY TEAM MEMBERS - The professionals who will be do the Reuse Study, led by John Lauber and Robert Claybaugh, Co-Principal Investigators.

RESOURCES - Maps, floor plans, photos, links, reports, and more.

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS - Results of the March 20th visit to Annandale by Co-PIs John Lauber and Bob Claybaugh

SURVEY RESULTS - Results of the 220 Surveys filled out at the April 6th Annandale Business Expo.

JUNE PUBLIC MEETING RESULTS:
        maps and photos of the building condition and site (Note: it is large pdf file and will take considerable time to download.)
        community input results of four questions asked the meeting attendees