Developing Heritage Properties- What you need to know

Every city has a section where historical homes and office buildings abound. These can be beautiful to look at and can make you feel as though you have been transported to a simpler time and place. Because of the special feel that these buildings evoke it is no wonder that many investors have considered them as a basis for their property development projects. What they, and you, need to keep in mind is that they also bring with them a unique set of rewards, risks and challenges. If you are a developer who is considering working with an older building here are a few factors that you have to remember.

Older building VS Heritage building

Older properties come in many shapes and sizes. There are both commercial and residential properties that developers can choose from. In some areas, residential properties may be passed from generation to generation and only rarely come on the market. In other areas, commercial buildings are available and in other areas developers have a much wider selection of building types to choose from.

In some cases, a home or other building may carry the designation of being a "heritage" building rather than just one that is older. As a developer, it is important for you to find out which category a building may fall into. This is because a heritage designation may end up impacting your development plans more than you may have thought possible. A heritage designation can bring with it restrictions on changes that you may want to make to the interior and exterior of a building.

What is the difference?

A heritage building is usually one that was built some time ago, much like century buildings would be. A heritage designation, however, usually denotes that the structure in question has some kind of historical significance. It may have been the home of an important historical figure or had a significant role to play in the history of a particular geographic area. It may also have been one of the first homes or buildings that were constructed in an area. Because a heritage building is considered significant there is a large amount of interest in ensuring that the changes made to the building will not affect the way it looks.

Why heritage buildings are harder to work with

Both older buildings and heritage buildings are often harder to work with than more modern buildings would be. Because they are older there may be more of a need for retrofitting and updates than there would be with a newer property. Updates to wiring and plumbing may be necessary as well as structural repairs that can be time-consuming and costly to complete.

You may need to adhere to specific color schemes when choosing the paint colors that are used on the interior and exterior of the home. You may be unable to knock down walls or add modern touches to the inside of a heritage building.



What to do if you are planning to develop older buildings

If you are looking at an older building with the intent to develop it, there are a few steps that you may want to take before submitting an offer to purchase. The initial step is to determine whether the building in question is a heritage building or whether it is just old. If it has been designated as one with specific historical significance you may want to speak with city officials or historical groups and committees. Finding out what the restrictions are (if any) will help you make a better purchasing decision.

If, after all of your research, you still want to purchase the building, it is important to do a property inspection. Just because it is old does not mean that it has been well maintained and you want to avoid properties that are in an advanced state of disrepair whenever possible.