Take a little winter walk down 100 South, between 8th and 9th East, and you’ll find an intriging and curious space tucked neatly between homes and apartment buildings. It’s historic in form, but bright clean modernism shines through the big storefront windows. Tough to tell what’s in there; is it an art gallery? An office? No. And yes. It’s the home base for Capitol Hill Construction, complete with architectural plans smothering the front table.
CHC [the other one] is a sort of one-stop, design-build architecture firm specializing in historic residences of Capitol Hill and the Avenues. And — naturally — they restored their own amazing space on 1st South. Massachusetts transplant and architect/engineer/general contractor, David Richardson, started the firm in 1995. He was spending a tad too much time away from home and he wanted a business plan formed around his own neighborhood [genius, local…duh]. It was a fine idea, as we see it. Not only because this also happens to be our ‘hood, but because this particular area happens to have one of the largest sites of historic residences from St. Louis to San Fransisco. Fa’ real. The 4 ‘pencil pushers’ [amazing architects, designers, etc.] and 8 ‘nail bangers’ [fine craftsmen] of Capitol Hill Const. have designed, renovated, and restored over 100 homes in the 84103. And — lest we forget — these good people put a substantial amount of pro bono work into the restoration of the Ladies Literary Club [that’s the sound of us clapping].
Dave is a former chair of the Utah Heritage Foundation, which means these guys know their shit from Shinola…especially in regards to historic homes in landmark districts. They understand things like tax credits in getting you up to 40% recap. They know how to do a higher standard of work with the materials required. In short, they’ve seen the myriad of hoops that come with any historic project, and they know how to jump right through them with confident savvy. Restoriation, in its very nature, is green, and Capitol Hill is well aware of this, reusing wherever possible. They’ve been featured in Utah Style & Design a number of times, but check out their 2004 Millcreek Jack Smith Mid-century project way below…a ridiculous stunner. “We’re improving the neighborhood, one client at a time,” says Dave. Yet another thing the CHCs share in common. Perfect neighbor.
Capitol Hill Construction | 814 E 100 S | 801.533.0204
