Historical Restoration

Apartments

The Hobbs Building is a historic 4-story building built in 1892. Bush Construction completed a restoration on this building. It has a total of 15 apartment units on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th floors with an unfinished “white envelope” on the 1^st floor, ready for a future tenant build-out. Additionally, we installed a new elevator in the Hobbs Building.

The two buildings adjacent to the original Hobbs Building house a total of 16 apartment units on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors.  And the same concept of an unfinished “white envelope” on the 1^st floor of each building.  All future tenant build-outs on the 1^st floor will be up to the owner’s discretion.

Onion Dome

The “onion dome” that sits on top of the corner window bay of the Hobbs Building is a trademark of the Aurora skyline.  We rebuilt the dome out of fiberglass to replicate the original (made from wood.)

The 4th-floor roof and the underside of the 2nd-floor flooring required structural steel to support the new onion dome.  The previous condition of the building was no longer able to support the original, which is why it was removed years ago.  Members of the community had inquired about the reinstallation of the onion dome. When the new dome was being installed, they watched in awe!

Many of the units still hold features that were originally in the Hobbs Building. To achieve this, Bush:

• Reinstalled the beadboard ceiling to match the existing.
• Maintained “faux” doors are all throughout the building to represent doors and passages that used to be there.
• Restored all windows, by hand, to their original condition.

Solutions!

Bush struggled to find a local contractor to install the structural steel.  We had to reach out to a local contractor in the Quad Cities that was willing to travel to Aurora.  The installation did not go according to plan. The Bush team had multiple meetings with engineers, the steel erectors, the fabricators, and the City. Our connections, transparent communication, and experience enabled us to work through all of the steel issues to get the steel and the onion dome installed and looking great.

 

Bush Construction completed the historical renovation of the Carnegie Library in Aledo, IL. Built in 1915-16, the landmark served generations of community members until it closed in 2019. Former residents, Crista and William J. Albertson, purchased the library and renovations began in early 2020.

The Albertson’s vision was to turn the library into a center for technology, education, and recruiting.

Project Details

• Restored original bookshelves and refinished original floor.
• Refurbished exterior lamp posts and replaced light fixtures and handrails.
• Exterior updates including tuckpointing, replacing windows and storm windows, refinished the original exterior door and replaced the roof.
• Installed modern HVAC and communication technology.
• Added a conference room and kitchen in the lower level to help support new coworking space and tech center run by High-Tech Small Town.

The library has gained national attention and received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award, an award that celebrates the in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and the re-imagining of historic buildings for the future.