There are thousands of designated and informal Main Streets in America’s smaller towns and urban neighborhoods. These districts are often composed of smaller, one- to three-story masonry or wood-frame buildings with retail shops or offices on the first floor and opportunities for residential units above. Far too often, the entire building or upper stories are vacant or underutilized, hampering reinvigoration of neighborhoods. Owners wanting to rehabilitate these buildings are commonly stymied by the high cost of building upgrades forced upon them “to meet modern building codes.” These demands become economic barriers to investment and burdens to owners.

The code barrier has become a reality in many communities, particularly for the upper stories, where vacancy rates can exceed 50%. This workshop will provide a detailed examination of the building stock on Main Street to explore its typical building features and connect these characteristics to compliance paths within the International Existing Building Code (IEBC). The team of experts for this workshop will break down issues related to fire safety, accessibility and energy conservation and explore more financially viable alternatives to make buildings safer and meet codes.

Register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ej6ukxli0c2eca26&llr=ctpvpccab