Need Architect to Rebuild House Devastated by Fire

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Dear Brownstoner Community, Way up north in Inwood, at the tip of Manhattan, there are only a dozen or so semi-detached and detached houses, all centered around W217th St and Park Terrace West.  We have our local roofers and fix-it guys that we all use, but lacking critical mass we like to come to this site for help with bigger issues related to owning and renovating a townhouse in NYC.  You are the heart and soul of urban homeownership in this town. One of our members now really needs your help.  You may have seen on the news a couple weeks back a devastating fire that completely gutted a semi-detached brick house on our block.  The scariest part was that the fire started in a ConEd manhole due to an arcing cable, then somehow traveled to one of the nearby houses via the feeder conduit, eventually blowing the gas line and turning into a three-alarm inferno that could have engulfed the whole area.  Imagine waking up to 3 am to that scene – I can assure you it was terrifying for everyone involved.  See more at http://www.dnainfo.com/20120323/washington-heights-inwood/fire-tears-through-inwood-home-injuring-12-firefighters. Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt so we can now turn our focus to rebuilding.  Presently the house is being inspected by the insurance company and their engineer.  It appears the walls are ok (aside from one section on the side) and the 1933 neo-Tudor brick facade should be able to be preserved (fingers crossed).  The house is not landmarked (landmark districts are unheard of in northern Manhattan, go figure) but the intent is to restore it to the way it was, at least on the outside. I am assisting my neighbor in his search for an architect and contractor to help with the rebuilding.  This is a big job — there are no floors left in the house, lots of engineering coordination required plus the complete replacement of every single MEP system.  The house is a shell. But I am sure that some of you have dealt with architects and GCs who have handled gut renovations or the rebuilding of abandoned shells who know how to stabilize, file, permit, design and restore.  This has to be firms  who can be afforded by the available insurance funds and able to deal with regular folks who just want their beloved home back.    If you have any suggestions on who can help, please post below or send an email to parkterracenorth@gmail.com and I will put them in touch with the affected homeowner.   Thanks, Park Terrace North Neighborhood Association

InwoodHill

in Construction 13 years and 1 month ago

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allrenovation | 13 years and 1 month ago

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Very sorry to read about this fire, I’m positive you’ll be able to bring back the original look.  I would like to recommend an Architect – Frank Martarella (he also does engineering). My company All Renovation Construction (http://www.allrenovationllc.com) has worked with him before.  It would be my pleasure to walk you through our West 149th Street Brownstone gut project which was pretty much a shell when we started the project.  Contact me at 718-351-4099. Pietro Calabretta

Brooklynista | 13 years and 1 month ago

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What a tragic story!  What a beautiful old home! While it’s clear that the original interior is totally lost, here’s hoping the elderly owner and longtime resident family can connect with a reputable, competent team that can make this place whole again.  Bless them and bless you for trying to help them out!  I hope you get a decent amount of responses.

bparc | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I am so sorry to hear of this devastating fire. We would be happy to examine the building free of cost with our team of engineers and builders to help give you a sense of the scope of work, schedule, costs etc.  Philip Pankiewicz RA. Phil@bparc.com

rafaelhomes | 13 years and 1 month ago

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