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Steven McQuillin & Associates, Building Preservation Consultants
ABOUT FOUNDER STEVEN MCQUILLIN
Vermillion Institute Founder Steven McQuillin is a preservation consultant based in Hayesville, Ohio with more than 40 years of experience in the field of historic preservation.
A graduate of Oberlin College and Columbia University's Preservation Program, Mr. McQuillin first began working for the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and has worked on his own as a consultant for more than 34 years. Among his projects are the rehabilitation of Cleveland's Terminal Tower and adjacent Higbee Building plus numerous projects throughout Cleveland's Warehouse District, years of service as preservation consultant to GE Lighting at Nela Park in East Cleveland, plus work for numerous communities in northern Ohio .
He has nominated over one hundred properties and districts to the National Register of Historic Places. At Oberlin, he worked to save Johnson House, Peters Hall, Apollo Theatre and the Union Center for the Arts and participated in their rehabilitation. An early project was the rehabilitation of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, whereby as a result of his detailed report, the state did not demolish the historic former Judiciary Annex but instead rehabilitated it. In his hometown of Elyria, Mr. McQuillin developed a plan to incorporate the historic 1867 town hall and adjacent Turner Block into a new city hall complex. He also
was instrumental in saving the 1894 historic core of Elyria High School as part of a new high school complex.
Mr. McQuillin also played a major role in saving the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City as well as the $100 million renovation and expansion of their municipal auditorium. He is working on some major projects in Oklahoma City, where his expertise in the rescuing of early modern landmarks from the 1960s has led to several major rehabilitation projects. He is currently working on the $250 million conversion of the 1931 First National Center, long the state's tallest building, into apartments and retail.
He has personally invested in and rehabilitated numerous historic buildings, including the 1838 Dover Farm House in Westlake, Ohio alongside a house he designed and had built from the ground up located at 31232 Detroit Avenue. Other historic buildings include the 1895 Weldon Davis House in Cleveland and his current residence and office in Hayesville, the 1845 historic Vermillion Institute. He also has an ocean front beach house he designed in Avon, North Carolina (specifically Cape Hatteras) named Mare Vista. The house is available for rent throughout the year and can be viewed by visiting www.hatterasrealty.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EDUCATION
- Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Historic Preservation;
- Master of Science in Historic Preservation; James Renwick, Jr., Scholarship award; thesis project under Professor James Marston Fitch, program founder Oberlin College;
- Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Architecture and Urban Studies, with scholarship awards;
- Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York, New York; One-year course of studies under the direction of Peter Eisenman and Rem Koolhaas
- Above Photo: Elyria High School, Elyria, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
Above Photo: Elyria High School, Elyria, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
EXPERIENCE
- Full-time preservation consulting firm in historic preservation for 34 years;
- Meets U.S. Dept. of the Interior professional qualifications for history and architectural history and registered in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia;
- Certified as a qualified architectural conservator by Heritage Preservation in Washington, D.C.;
- Performs federally funded conservation assessments of historic properties;
- Prepares applications for projects seeking the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit and 25% state tax credit;
- Specializes in historic theatre restoration projects, has presented to the League of Historic American Theatres;
- Prepared more than 230 separate nominations to the National Register of Historic Places; including 18 districts;
- Writes local preservation ordinances;
- Performs environmental reviews under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act;
- Prepares historic house designs and addition/renovation plans;
- Records historic properties for the Historic American Building Survey (HABS)
Above Photo: Higbee Building, Cleveland, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PROJECTS
- Two resort cottages on Hatteras Island of North Carolina's Outer Banks were designed and built by McQuillin & Associates; The cottages capture the turn-of-the-century Shingle Style character in a contemporary idiom. The oceanfront cottage is available for vacation rental;
- Restored brick Greek Revival style residence with the former offices of McQuillin & Associates in an adjacent reconstructed barn addition;
- Designed and completed new construction house at 31232 Detroit Road, Westlake, Ohio, sold in 2015;
- Preservation consultant for Sioux Cit Municipal Auditorium, a $55 million rehabilitation and new construction project:
- Elyria City Hall feasibility study prepared in 1986 for the city to build a new municipal complex at a cost of $16 million which incorporates and restores the old 1867 town hall and opera house, plus 1903 Turner Block; project completed in 2004;
- Wayne County Courthouse exterior Restoration; drawings featured in Ohio Historical Society's Annual Report; renovated courtroom and restored old Wayne County Jail into restaurant;
- Published a report on the renovation of the Ohio Statehouse that helped save the turn-of-the-century Statehouse Annex;
- Advocate for preservation of the 1970 Marcel Breuer-designed wing of the Cleveland Museum of Art;
- Plans and specifications for the restoration of McKim, Mead & White Hanna Mansion, Bratenah, part of Newport;
- Master plan for the Cincinnati Historic Society housed in an Art Deco landmark, one of America's great old train stations.
- Above Photo: Elyria City Hall, Elyria, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
Above Photo: Elyria City Hall, Elyria, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
Residential Additions and Renovations (Selected Projects)
- Ben Norton, Lorain; family room & master bedroom addition to historic lakefront Greek Revival;
- Greg Allen, Avon; family room & master bedroom addition to old farmhouse; new kitchen addition;
- Frederick Stueber, Kelley's Island; new front porch and bathrooms for landmark Greek Revival;
- Frederick Hauret, Cleveland; lofted apartment addition;
- Rick Nicholson, Cleveland; front stair and porch reconstruction;
- Claude Weagraff, Lakeside; front porch reconstruction
- Master plan prepared for Glamorgan Castle in Alliance, Ohio, one of Ohio's most impressive landmarks;
- Prepared plans, supervised construction and financing of two $150,000 conversions of dilapidated houses in Cleveland's Brooklyn Centre; aluminum siding stripped away, porches rebuit, and many historic details restored; residence and former offices of McQuillin & Associates for 20 years at Weldon Davis House, an 1895 Queen Anne style turreted mansion with reconstruction carriage house;
- Restoration of Dover Farm in Westlake, former country residence of U.S. Senator T.E. Burton, later abandoned nursing home;
- Work since 2011 on the Vermillion Institute in Hayesville, Ashland County, Ohio, an 1845-46 landmark former college building, current residence of Steve McQuillin and current offices of McQuillin & Associates. Projected completion in 2016. State preservation credits helped to fund this $1 million dollar project;
- Elyria High School, part of a design team for this $55 million dollar complex that integrated as its centerpiece the 1894 Richardsonian Romanesque Washington Building; completed in 2012; ongoing work for Elyria City Schools on historic preservation issues.
Above Photo: Nela Park Building, East Cleveland, Ohio - McQuillin & Associates, Preservation Consultant Project
PLANNING PROJECTS
- East Cleveland, National Register eligibility study for Forest Hill Avenue historic district;
- 2010-2011 Bay Village, Westlake, Strongsville, Canfield, Ashland, Hancock, Lorain, Marion, Mahoning and Wayne Co. Historical Society master plans;
- Planning for Fashion Museum at Kent State University;
- Malabar Farm State Park, Lucas, Ohio, renovation plan for Malabar Inn and plan for museum complex;
- Springfield Old City Hall, master plan for conversion to a historical facility and public office building;
- Historic American Buildings Survey documentation of 33 buildings in Springfield, Ohio in 2997-98 for the city; development of a Memorandum of Agreement and Programmatic Agreement between the city and the Ohio SHPO;
- Service from 1987-2004 as consultant to the Historical Subcommittee of the Gates Mills Architectural Board of Review:
- Survey off over five hundred historic resources in Alliance, Ohio, 1991-93, recorded in the Ohio Historic Inventory;
- Historic surveys in several neighborhoods of Akron, including Storer Avenue, Mull Avenue, University of Akron areas;
- Survey of over sixty U.S. post offices from the 1930s prepared for the U. S. Postal Service in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky;
- Brooklyn Centre Multiple Resource Area and historic district nominations prepared in Cleveland, expanded the Ohio City National Register boundaries, prepared National Register nomination in the Franklin-West Clinton neighborhood.;
- Detailed plan was prepared in 1997 for restoring Cleveland Public Square into a single large park, based on its historic appearance; plans endorsed by environmental and arts groups with studies to evaluate its potential; published 5-17-1998 and 9-20-1998 and forms the basis for the most current Public Square plan;
- Mansfield local preservation ordinance written and used to enable the city to become Ohio's former Certified Local Government; properties nominated to the National Register and plan developed for houses along Park Avenue West;
- Preservation consultant to Canton's Community Development Department, surveys of over 700 downtown buildings;
- Olmsted Falls, Ohio Historic Inventory of over 150 properties; wrote new historic preservation ordinance; assisted the city in the development of its strategic long-range development plan; and prepared National Register district nomination;
- Preservation laws for Elyria, Oberlin, Ravenna, Gates Mills, Wooster, Hiram, Alliance, Strongsville and Mansfield;
- McQuillin has special expertise on Americans With Disabilities Act, spoke at a conference on the subject and prepared plans for several historic organizations that sensitively address the needs off the handicapped in historic properties;
- Heritage Conservation grant consultant for local organizations to help preserve their historic buildings, including Lorain, Hancock, Ashland, Clinton county historical societies, Cincinnati Union Terminal, Mahoning Valley High School, Kent State University Fashion Museum;
- Preservation plan, City of Altoona, highlighting its resources and rail heritage, funded by National Park Service.
TAX CERTIFICATION PROJECTS
Current Projects
- First National Bank Building, Oklahoma City - Preservation consultant on the $120 million transformation of this Art Deco skyscraper, tallest building on the Plains when it opened and featuring a rotating rooftop beacon that could be seen for 70 miles. It is being converted into a grand hotel, apartments and fine dining/entertainment by prominent developer Gary Brooks and Cornerstone Development. It is the largest preservation project ever undertaken in the state;
- Innes Department Store in Wichita, Kansas is being redeveloped as a multi-functional urban center and our firm is serving to help guide the project through the development stages and to gain state and federal preservation funds. Sudha Tokala is the owner/developer;
- Sutton Place, Wichita, is a 1965 Modern era building with futuristic sky bridge that our firm is working to help develop. It will be developed into apartments and retail;
- Henry's in downtown Wichita is an Early Modern men's store, vacant for years, that our firm is helping to transform into offices and retail;
- National Burial Insurance Building, Memphis, Tennessee is a 5-story modernistic office building that will be redevelopment for new commercial use utilizing federal rehabilitation incentives. Our firm is preservation consultant for this important redevelopment in eastern Memphis. Owner Glenn Ferguson is a major regional developer who is also finishing the conversion of Tiffany Apartments in Oklahoma City;
- Kelley Hardware and Odd Fellows Hall, Hayesville, Ohio, where our firm is the owner, designer, developer and preservation consultant;
- Hedrick House, Fifth and Walnut, Mansfield, where our firm is also the owner, developer, contractor, designer and preservation consultant in what is hoped will be the first of many tax credit rehabilitation projects in the city's historic downtown, nominated as a National Register historic district.
- Tiffany House, where our firm is serving as preservation consultant under a $26 rehabilitation of a 12-story 1965 apartment tower for Ferguson Properties. This is one of three tall apartment towers in Oklahoma City and once featured a rathskeller-like German-themed restaurant.
- Consultant on 1963 United Founders Life Tower, 1966 Citizens Bank Tower, and 1966 Tiffany House, all located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Early Modern high-rise landmarks; $80 million dollar in total rehabilitation costs;
- Preservationist for the M.T. Silver Building and the Sunshine Cloak Company in Cleveland's Superior Lofts district, 2010-2013;
- Preservation consultant for Orpheum Theatre restoration and Municipal Auditorium, Sioux City, Iowa (2000-2006);
- Work on 1883 Seneca County Courthouse, Tiffin; applied for and obtained $2 million dollar state tax credit (2008);
- Service since 1998 as consultant for NELA Park (General Electrica Consumer & Industrial) the nation's first industrial park; prepared preservation management plan, oversaw $30 million dollar in renovations of over ten buildings;
- Consultant for 1927 Terminal Tower (2005-2014) and 1931 Higbee Building (1984-2012) renovations for Forest City Enterprises;
- Woodland Avenue and West Side Street Railway Power House converted into the focal point of the Flat's west banks entertainment;
- Consultation services have been provided on much work in Cleveland's Wharehouse District including the Hat Factory, Johnson Block, Jobber's Block, Chamberlain Block, Burgess Block, Painter's Building, Cornell Block, Grand Arcade, Hilliard Block, 820 Building, Bloch's Block, Miller Block, Lorenzo Carter Building, Courthouse Square, New York Coach Block, Tackaberry Trunk Company, Shanman Building and the Perry-Payne Building;
- Renovation guidance of two major historic buildings at USS/Kobe Steel Co., Lorain, as part of a half-billion dollar project;
- Plans for reuse of schools, including an 1874 Victorian Gothic brick school now used as an art center, Beehive and Doan schools in Cleveland transformed into senior housing; re-use plans also prepared for Watterson, St. John Cantius, East Madison, Lulu Diehl and Hodge schools in Cleveland and for Amherst Central High School, Greyhound Bus Station, Cleveland, Ohio, rehabilitation of 1946 Art Moderne style building, College of Wooster 1936 Babcock Hall renovation (2008), Oberlin College 1914 Apollo Theater (2009-2012), Federal Knitting Mills (2005), Metro Lofts (2003), Northern Ohio Blanket Mills (2008-2009) conversions of old factories into lofts.
Sutton Place (Wichita, Kansas)
First National Bank lobby (Oklahoma City)
Innes Department Store (Wichita, Kansas)
Citizens Bank Tower (Oklahoma City)
First National Bank (Oklahoma City)
National Burial Insurance Co. Building (Memphis, Tennessee)
ACADEMIC WORK
- Opulent Interiors of the Gilded Age, Dover Publications, with Arnold Lewis and James Turner;
- The History of Ohio's Counties and Their Historical Courthouses with Dr. Larry Marzulli as co-author;
- Preserving Our Past, Lorain County, Ohio landmarks published by the Lorain County Regional Planning Commission;
- Ohio Statehouse Renovation Plan, 50-page report published with a grant from Columbia University;
- AIA Guide to Cleveland Architecture, authored the chapter on architectural styles found in Cleveland;
- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians articles on two Cleveland publications;
- 2014 article on NELA Park for Ohio book;
- "Facade," the quarterly newsletter of the Cleveland Restoration Society, had featured regular articles by McQuillin;
- History of Architecture courses were taught at Ursuline College, Kent State, Ohio State and community colleges;
- Professional Affiliations: Chair, 30 years, Brooklyn Centre Design Review Committee, Cleveland Landmarks Commission; Past president: Terra Cotta Conservation Group, Crossroads Development Corporation., Brooklyn Centre Historical Society; member Cleveland Restoration Society, Preservation Action, National Trust for Historic Preservation (presenter at 1996, 2008 Annual Meetings), League of Historic American Theatres (presenter at 2003, 2004 Annual Meetings).