McGregor Pond Restoration Honored with Governor’s Award

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ANN ARBOR — The McGregor Pond & Sculpture Garden project by Quinn Evans Architects and McCarthy & Smith Inc. was awarded a 2014 Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation.

The McGregor Pond & Sculpture Garden project, conducted in nearly a year of meticulous restorations and repairs, rehabilitated Minoru Yamasaki’s reflecting pool at Wayne State’s McGregor Memorial Conference Center. This was the first large-scale restoration the conference center has undergone since it was first built in 1958. Drawing inspiration from the original design blueprints, the architects restored the pool’s character while employing new strategies and technology for improving its functionality. The restoration team included Quinn Evans Architects’ Elisabeth Knibbe, Richard Hess, Lauren Parker, and Ruth Mills. Beckett & Raeder was the Landscape Architect and McCarthy & Smith, Inc. served as contractor for the project.

The State Historic Preservation Office, part of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, initiated the award program in 2003 to recognize outstanding historic preservation achievements reflecting a commitment to the preservation of Michigan’s unique character and the many cultural resources that document Michigan’s past. Between 2003 and 2013, historic rehabilitations in the state, financed by federal historic preservation tax credits, resulted in more than $1.7 billion in investment. In 2013, completed historic rehabilitation projects in Michigan totaled $146 million in investment.

“Historic preservation is vital to Michigan,” Scott Woosley, executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, said. “It is vital to the quality of life of our citizens; to the vitality and economic strength and stability of our communities; to maintaining the unique characteristics of our cities, towns and rural areas; and to the sense of who we are as Michiganders. Historic preservation keeps us authentic.”