Before+After: Rebuilding Blocks

Juan and Carmen Urbieta share a successful remodeling company and a persistent, ambitious, and, so far, elusive dream: that the best is yet to come for the Huffman Historic Area of Dayton, Ohio.

More than a century ago, the Huffman community (listed in the National Register of Historic Places) was one of Dayton's most vibrant residential neighborhoods. Located less than a mile east of the city's downtown, the 10-square-block area was developed in the years after the Civil War, largely by William P. Huffman. A wealthy businessman, Huffman provided much of the land and money for a streetcar line, a school and a church, a factory, and homes — notably the ornate Victorians and Queen Annes that anchor the wide streets — for himself, his children, and the many families that followed.

By the early 1900s, the neighborhood was flourishing — home to some of Dayton's most prominent families as well as to its budding aviation and bicycle industries. The Wright Brothers' hangar was nearby, and Huffman's own company became Huffman Manufacturing Co., today known as Huffy Bikes.

1725 E. Third St. -- The Urbietas purchased this 1860s-era Victorian Italianate mansion after it was nearly burned to the ground, and rebuilt it from 1996 to 2001. Urbieta Construction occupies the first floor; the second floor has a 1,600-square-foot office space and a 2-bedroom apartment.

Photo Credit: Jason Meyer of Feinknopf Photography

More striking than the area's success, however, was its mix of residents and architectural styles. Industrialists and social luminaries mingled with craftsmen and store clerks. Their homes were similarly divergent. “The unique thing about Huffman,” says Mike Osgood, a longtime resident who owns several houses in the neighborhood, “is that you can go block to block and see 5,000-square-foot mansions that would cost millions of dollars to develop today, and less than a block and a half away there are 700-or 800-square-foot cottages. So if each home were developed to its fullest potential, you'd have full economic diversity.”

Economic diversity was William Huffman's intent. And that's where the Urbietas come in.

By the mid-1990s, both the Huffman area and Urbieta Construction needed a lifeline. Huffman had deteriorated dramatically since its glittery heyday. Businesses had closed, families had moved to the suburbs, and property values had plummeted, trapping longtime residents in an economic vise of being unable to either maintain or sell their homes. Many buildings were abandoned.

The Urbietas, for their part, had been in business since 1988, but “we weren't going anywhere,” Carmen says. Juan spoke limited English at the time, having left Mexico just a few years before. Carmen was bilingual and helped him communicate with clients, but language and cultural barriers seemed to be holding them back. “We were looking for ways to grow,” Carmen says.

129 Ringgold St. -- The project that began it all, this duplex was slated for demolition before the Urbietas remodeled it as part of Rehabarama. The property received multiple purchase offers and has since been on the Huffman homes tour several times.

Photo Credit: Jason Meyer

Their springboard took the form of a man named Warren Wise and a program called Rehabarama. Wise was a successful minority commercial contractor whose name appeared frequently in the local papers, and the Urbietas thought he might be a good mentor for their minority-owned business. Carmen wrote him a letter, “and within four days he called and offered Juan the chance to do an addition,” as a tryout for future work, she says.

The addition went well, so Wise invited them to join him in the 1995 Rehabarama, a recurring city-sponsored effort to spark the revitalization of urban neighborhoods. That year's neighborhood was Huffman, and the Urbietas were assigned to 129 Ringgold St., an 1870 brick duplex that had been gutted by fire and boarded up for years. In a neighborhood of eyesores, it was “one of the worst,” Osgood recalls. “It had three walls and a roof.” Juan remembers it as “a mess,” so decrepit that the police even rejected it as a site for their break-in exercises.

The Urbietas spent seven months rebuilding the house, using the city's budget of roughly $80,000 along with $20,000 of their own. “A lot of remodelers lost money,” Carmen says. “Juan tends to be a perfectionist, and he wanted it to have certain chandeliers” that were appropriate for a house its age, while incorporating contemporary features such as a skylight, and wider halls and stairways.

Despite the financial loss, the project suggested the profit-making potential of buying and restoring old properties. When the eight homes of Rehabarama were listed for sale, 129 Ringgold received several offers. Osgood says the program raised property values 25% in the Huffman Historic Area and triggered the subsequent renovation of dozens of other properties.

1804-1814 E. Third St. -- The Urbietas' most ambitious project to date, this mixed-use development is rising from the wreckage of an early 20th century bank building and the former Old Hickory restaurant. “The Angels,” named for the couple's 9-year-old son Angel, will consist of two office/retail spaces on the ground floor and six 1- to 3-bedroom apartments on the second floor. Upscale apartments will feature such amenities as wireless camera security, tiled balconies, hardwood floors, and whirlpool tubs.

Decades of neglect and abuse magnify the challenges, and each of the subsequent projects the Urbietas undertook in the Huffman Historic Area had seen their share of neglect and abuse.

Take 1725 E. Third St., which dates from the 1860s. Today, the gloriously restored Italianate Victorian is home to Urbieta Construction, with an additional office space and two-bedroom apartment on the upper level. When the Urbietas first saw the building in 1996, however, it had been ravaged by fire in an arson that killed two elderly boarders. Neighbors rescued the building from demolition and then sold it for $18,000 to the Urbietas, who quickly repaired the façade before taking five years to complete the rest of the project. The Urbietas worked mainly on weekends, Carmen says, so they could devote weekdays to income-generating projects (see “Leveraging Future Growth”).

76-78 Huffman Ave. -- The Urbietas purchased and remodeled this house in 2001. Its three apartments have been rented consistently. Part of the yard serves as a community garden.

Photo Credit: Jason Meyer

When possible, the Urbietas preserved the original elements of 1725 E. Third. The brick exterior, for example, primarily needed repainting, and the 8-foot door and 7-foot window openings are original. When the damage was irreparable, they reconstructed. The fire spared little of the curved interior staircase, for instance, so Juan used a planer and lathe to fabricate a new handrail and spindles from pine and birch, respectively. Most of the elaborate metal window hoods and brackets required little more than shoring up and painting, but the fire destroyed those in the back part of the building. Juan traced their pattern and created copies made from wood and plaster.

While keeping 1725 E. Third true to its style, the Urbietas also modernized and personalized the building. Subtly integrated into the exterior is a wheelchair ramp lined with curvaceous concrete balusters made from a mold they found in a catalog. Each is 80 or 90 pounds of concrete, Juan says. He made them two at a time, using rebar in each for support and strength. The interior reflects the couple's Mexican heritage, with such items as a hand-painted sink and hand-woven tapestries purchased during their visits to Mexico. Carmen says that the fully operable wooden interior shutters, which Juan made, “remind me of my grandmother's old Colonial house in Mexico City.”

Even Juan's seemingly precise reproductions have a personal touch. He introduces deliberate, nearly imperceptible differences such as a slightly larger detail in one of his window brackets “to prove to people that I made them,” he says. “They have to be at least 95% matched, or I'm not happy.” The additional 5%, he says, is “my originality.”

With each subsequent project in the Huffman area, the Urbietas learned how to do things a bit more economically and a bit faster. “Old plaster ceilings and walls, and sometimes even floors … we just take all that stuff out,” Carmen says, leaving little but the load-bearing walls and salvaging original details for reuse. “Then it's just like new construction, so we can put in all-new electrical and plumbing.” Extensive gutting makes dumpsters one of the Urbietas' biggest expenses. The demolition phase of an ambitious project now underway — “The Angels” mixed-use development across from their office —filled more than a dozen dumpsters, “with more to go,” Juan says.

They also learned some shopping tricks. “My husband loves to shop,” Carmen says. Juan cultivates relationships with the pro staff at The Home Depot and at Lowe's to stay apprised of items that have been discounted or discontinued. It's not unusual for him to buy a dozen ceiling fans or light fixtures, which he knows he'll eventually use.

Similarly, when Juan needs a lot of a material, such as hardwood or granite, he says, “I go to the stores and ask them what they have for sale. If they don't have anything, I ask them to call their supplier.” Rather than buying solid slab granite, he buys it in 12-inch squares, which is about 80% to 85% less expensive and achieves nearly the same visual impact.

What the Urbietas don't compromise on is historic authenticity. Walking through the apartments under construction at The Angels, Juan points out the 10-inch baseboards, exposed brick walls, crown moldings, and solid-core doors, among other original features. “When I cut something out” of an old building, “it has to look like it was always there” when he reinstalls it. “I don't know how to cut corners.”

The Urbieta's office building at 1725 E. Third St. reflects both the couple's Mexican heritage and the building's Victorian style. Fire ruined some of the metal window hoods, so Juan painstakingly recreated them using wood and plaster.

Photo Credit: Jason Meyer

That reverence for the past is a key reason the Urbietas' Huffman investments are likely to pay off. Mike Osgood explains that shortsighted investors who aim to quickly flip an old house for a quick profit “will come in and completely miss the nature of historic properties. They'll tear out incredibly beautiful woodwork” and replace old windows with new windows that don't even meet code requirements. “Buyers don't want that,” he says. “They want historic character. That's the biggest risk — a misunderstanding of what the market wants.”

Juan and Carmen acknowledge that their work is also risky, but “this is an investment for the long haul,” Carmen says. Downtown Dayton has improved dramatically in recent years, with young professionals and empty nesters flocking to loft-style apartments. Third Street is the main artery connecting the city to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with 20,000 employees. And urban pioneers —artists, young families, singles, and couples — are repopulating Huffman.

“As long as we keep renting our apartments,” Juan says, “I'll keep doing more in this neighborhood.” In the meantime, he and Carmen have declined offers from real estate investors who want to buy their refurbished properties. “I want to keep these for maybe 20 years,” Juan says, “and this one,” gesturing to his office, “for life.”

String of Pearls

Since participating in Dayton's Rehabarama project in 1995, Urbieta Construction has purchased and restored five rundown buildings in the city's Huffman Historic Area. The Urbietas paid between $16,000 and $45,000 for each property, and invested another $140,000 to $300,000 in each to remodel.

1406 E. Third St. -- Built in 1900, this “pink lady” Victorian was a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall before the Urbietas bought it. Completely remodeled in 2004, the building has two 2-bedroom apartments with such features as hardwood floors and trim, original stained glass windows, original fireplaces, and an enormous garage that was the VFW hall's dance floor and bar.

Photo Credit: Jason Meyer

The Urbietas have financed their work in Huffman by various methods, including using conventional lines of credit based on their existing properties as collateral. They refinance each property upon completion, using the appreciated value to pay off the credit line. They say that they have never benefited from special incentive programs, except for a $15,000 grant they received for restoring the façade on 1725 E. Third St. within three months.

Other than 129 Ringgold, which the Urbietas never owned, the couple has kept its Huffman buildings as rentals. Monthly income from each apartment ranges from $550 to $900 — more than most Huffman rentals but less than comparably equipped apartments in Dayton's downtown. With occasional exceptions, all apartments have rented quickly and consistently.

Liking a Good Neighbor

Urbieta Construction has some hard-learned advice for other remodelers considering speculative work in neglected neighborhoods or historic districts. In short, watch out for red tape and be a good neighbor.

“Paperwork is the hardest,” Juan Urbieta says. “I haven't found an easy way to make [the city] believe I'm going to do it right.” The company often waits months — and spends thousands of dollars on drawings, studies, and fees —before getting permits. Various zoning authorities and the local historic board sometimes have conflicting requirements. Defining clear property rights, or even property lines, can be a headache. “When you buy old buildings, sometimes you don't know if you own the whole thing or only half of it,” Juan jokes. The more a property is sold or modified, the greater the likelihood of errors or inconsistencies creeping into its file.

The Urbietas' saving grace has been their exemplary participation in the Huffman community. “You want the neighborhood on your side,” says Mike Osgood, past-president of the Huffman Historic Society. “Every time the neighborhood has asked for their assistance” — such as volunteering for Rebuilding Together, local schools, and other causes — Juan and Carmen have “stepped up to help. They're an integral part of the neighborhood.”

In return, Huffman neighbors support the Urbietas at public hearings. “Having neighbors stand up and say we support everything this developer has done — that makes an incredible difference,” Osgood says. “You can't hire a lawyer to do that.”

Robert Ranzau, the couple's commercial loan officer at Fifth Third Bank, says that lenders also take community involvement into account when reviewing a company's loan application. “Juan and Carmen are passionate about their business and they're very honest,” he says. “You look at a company's financial performance, but you also look at the character of the customer.” The Urbietas' character, he adds, “is without peer.”

Local organizations seem to agree. Preservation Dayton gave Urbieta Construction its Community Preservation Award in 2004. Earlier this year, the Dayton Better Business Bureau gave the company its Eclipse Integrity Award. Ranzau wrote a letter in support of the nomination.

Leveraging Future Growth

Urbieta Construction (www.urbietaconstruction.com) spends about a quarter of its time developing the Huffman Historic Area, with the remainder devoted to income-producing remodeling projects in some of Dayton's affluent suburbs. “Right now, Urbieta Construction supports our development work,” Juan says. “In the future, this is going to change, and development is going to support us. I've got 7 years to buy as much as I can,” he says. “I'd like to have 50 rentals by then.”

The company has undergone this kind of planned transition before. When the Urbietas formed Urbieta Construction, Carmen owned a small but successful dental laboratory. She kept the lab for 14 years until Urbieta Construction was fully in the black and self-sustaining.