Three received recognition for restoring buildings in New Hope.
By: Linda Seida
NEW HOPE Martine Landry won an award for the restoration of a centuries-old barn that she turned into a popular restaurant, but there were days when the picture in her mind of what it could become was clouded by doubt and muddy floodwaters.
The plan was to open Martine’s River House Restaurant and Bar at 14 E. Ferry St. on July 5, 2006. But a major flood swept the area, and it was the third one in less than two years to strike the site.
Ms. Landry recalled, "I’m throwing my hands up and saying, ‘What have I done?’"
She’d had her eye on the property for years even while she ran her restaurant from nearby 7 E. Ferry St.
"I knew the owners for a long time and always fantasized what a great restaurant it would be," she said.
Ms. Landry acquired the site in August 2004.
"Part of the challenge was it sustained flood damage 10 days later," she said.
Two more floods followed, the next in April 2005.
"It was a challenge," she said. "It was exciting. There were days I never thought I’d see the completion of it."
The Historic Architecture Review Board honored Ms. Landry for her tenacity and vision as well as her desire to remain historically true to the structure. The barn was originally a boathouse for the historic ferry that operated there in the 1700s. The original restaurant at 7 E. Ferry was a toll house for the same ferry.
Flood cleanups highlighted just how much more extensive the renovation would need to become compared to what was originally anticipated to make Ms. Landry’s vision for a new restaurant come to life.
"I don’t know if it would have withheld another flood," she said.
For her efforts, HARB recently presented Ms. Landry with one of its annual awards.
The early 18th-century structure had been "sort of forgotten, and she’s brought it back," said HARB’s former chairman, Spencer Saunders. "We’re all very proud."
Ms. Landry declined to say how much her renovation cost.
Mr. Saunders said, "I can’t imagine she did it for under $100,000."
Two other HARB awards were given out this year.
Mark Higgins, who served on HARB for 13 years, received the honor for best commercial structure for the work he performed on his three-story building at 49 W. Ferry St., which houses the restaurant Tastebuds, owned by John Barbacane.
Richard Gacek earned the best residential award for his work at 186 S. Main St.
Like Ms. Landry’s barn turned restaurant, Mr. Higgins’ 18th-century building needed more work than originally anticipated, including the replacement of the bottom sill beam, the piece of wood that connects the foundation to the building.
On the front facade, he also replaced the siding, the insulation and the window sills and added lighting in the eaves.
Mr. Higgins took a "two-story nondescript house at the edge of the business area" and transformed it into "a charming gem of a building," Mr. Saunders said.
Mr. Higgins said he spent about $26,000 on the front façade. The project took six weeks, working six or seven days per week.
Previously, he worked on other sides of the building, one year with his father. They did it in their spare time.
"There wasn’t always the funds or the time," Mr. Higgins said.
Mr. Gacek’s house at the south end of the borough is a "centuries-old" home that had been "hodgepodged over the years with different retaining walls and embellishments," Mr. Saunders said.
It had evolved "far from the original design. He wanted to strip it back to its basic core elements, and that’s exactly what he did."
Mr. Saunders said Mr. Gacek transformed the building into something that is "quite prominent now and quite elegant. Through simplicity there is an elegance."
This is the third year HARB has given out awards for outstanding architectural projects.