Share
The conversion of an old Sacramento hotel into an apartment building for folks transitioning out of homelessness—The St. Clare at Capitol Park— has garnered multiple real estate and architectural awards.
California nonprofit Mercy Housing acquired the building in late 2020. Early construction activities uncovered a myriad of unforeseen defects that included deteriorated wood in structural elements, elevator shafts with incomplete support at the ground level, and un-permitted and deficient construction at upper levels. Battling pandemic materials and labor shortfalls and delays, the historic rehabilitation team shored up the structure, rebuilt interior walls, installed new windows that mimicked the old ones and added a custom electrical system.
Changes were also needed to bring the building to today’s accessibility standards, says Peter Birkholz, principal with project architect Page & Turnbull, San Francisco. “The existing historic doors were too narrow to provide code-compliant access,” he says. “We had to increase the width and obtain replica doors that matched the existing doors and trim to replicate the historic material.”
The original tile in the building’s community room was covered for protection during construction, and then cleaned, polished and repaired, says Rich Ciraulo, Mercy Housing regional director. Along with hurdles came happy surprises, he says, such as exposing a hidden decorative column supporting a beautiful, coffered ceiling.
We weren’t looking to make it new. We kept the imperfections as a nod to authenticity.”
-Rich Ciraulo, Mercy Housing regional director of real estate development
