Renovating a classic Homeowners find right team to update century-old gem

BOULDER — The Mapleton Hill neighborhood in Boulder — boasting tree-lined streets pressed against the first slant of the jutting foothills — began in the 19th century when settlers trickled into the small Colorado town in hopes of finding gold and financial success.

The neighborhood remains dotted with century-old homes awaiting 21st century updates while still offering small-town charm and a dollop of history.

However, potential homeowners prospecting for such prime real estate on Mapleton Hill face a storm of city and historical restrictions making such remodels a challenge.

“There are a ton of reasons why not to do a project like this,” said Marybeth Emerson, an agent with Colorado Landmark. She often works with clients interested in renovations and historical restoration projects. She noticed a potential gem in a Mapleton Hill home at 702 Pine St.

Built in 1904, the Victorian-style brick house offered loads of curb appeal with a stately, white-columned front porch. The interior captured the old-house character and funk prized by those interested in historical properties, including carved banisters and spindles, detailed wood trim, original doors and an elegantly tiled fireplace uncommon in today’s homes. Once remodeled, the house would offer instant equity, Emerson said.

“I knew a deal when I saw one, and on a really great property. … I wanted one of my clients to get it,” Emerson said. That’s why she showed it to Gail and Michel Walter. The couple purchased the 2,300-square-foot property in July for $1,450,000 and began significant renovations in November.

Passion for the project

“We love it,” said Gail Walter. “It’s one of the most exciting things; it’s like a giant art project.” It wasn’t love at first site, though, and the couple passed on the place a few years ago. The property then languished on the market for several years.

The Walters have since developed a passion for the project. Once completed, the home will be just shy of 5,000 square feet but retain its original character, including the reinstallation of the original trim, woodwork and doors.

The raft of building codes, energy and size restrictions and landmark limitations leveled at such properties in Boulder made proper planning essential.

“You have to ask … how do I design something within all those requirements that can still be aesthetically pleasing and that you can live in and enjoy?” Michel Walter said. Searching for such symmetry, the couple approached local architect David Waugh with Michel’s vision.

“We have these ideas and these dreams and then he makes them happen,” Michel said.

Balancing the old structure with the new addition was critical.

“The trick is to get that flow,” Waugh said, owner of Waugh and Associates, an architecture and planning firm specializing in residential design. The firm has worked on more than 1,400 homes since 1975 including a dozen historical preservation projects, something he said feels like serving two owners: the actual owners and the landmark committee.

Cooking up a plan

Mapleton Hill’s first residents were wealthy, Emerson said, and the original house included a tiny kitchen at the back of the structure, typical in the 1900s as maids did the cooking. Modern times require something different.

“We love to cook as a way of socializing, that’s our lives today,” Michel said. The new addition includes a large, modern kitchen with space for guests.

While the back of the house was once closed with little natural light and no view, the remodel sports double doors and additional windows opening onto a wrap-around porch. The porch links and balances the structure’s original front porch with the new addition and creates an indoor-outdoor living space near the kitchen.

The basement — originally used for coal storage to heat the house through a gravity-fed furnace — still had dirt floors in places. Blackened walls stained by coal marked one corner and crumbling plaster hid the beauty of the basement’s stone foundation wall. The reclaimed basement includes solid floors with the original stone walls neatly cleaned and grouted to enhance the building’s integrity while providing a stunning, rustic look.

The Walters considered living in the house while remodeling piece by piece, until they met local builder Joel Smiley of Smiley Inc. Smiley had been eyeing the 702 Pine St. home for some time, wanting to do the project justice. David Waugh connected him with Gail and Michel, and it’s been a good fit.

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Artistry at work

“He is such an amazing guy. He’s like a magician,” Gail said. “You come up with an idea and he makes it happen; he’s like an artist to me.”

Smiley originally worked as a carpenter to pay for college and planned to become a history professor afterward. The joy and challenge of construction captivated him, though, and he’s been building ever since. He calls building new homes “a little too easy” and surrounds Smiley Inc. with a team of experienced subcontractors.

“When you get a group of guys and you train them to deal with these old creatures, it’s a really rewarding process that requires you to think on your feet,” Smiley said. Michel Walter agrees. The project has been a constant process of letting go of ideas that don’t work with the character of the existing house.

“We look at all the pieces and ask is this something we want to hold onto? Does it add value to the house?” Michel said. If it doesn’t fit, they do something else, he said, a bit like chiseling a sculpture to reveal the work of art underneath.

“By taking on an old house like this, even though it has its restrictions, you carry so much of the soul of the place, the energy of the place … and so much of the character into the remodel,” he said. The couple view themselves as stewards of history rather than simple home owners.

 It’s like taking the character of yesteryear and giving it a 21st century loving. … We would have failed if it didn’t,” Gail said.