PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION ASSOCIATIONVolume 17

PACA's Salvage Warehouse: AnEconomic Overview

Is there a plan in our chaos?

We are again highlighting the PACA Sal-vage Warehouse, in what has become atraditional first issue of the new year,Two requirements of a successful busi-ness are having a good market for ourgoods as well as maintaining a highquality supply. Our organization mustalso depend on volunteers to staff andmaintain a facility that continues to at-tract customers. This article includes an

update on our search for a newwarehouse space, our financial status andhighlights of our past salvage year.

Our market

Part of the reason for the success of the

salvage warehouse is that we have beenable to fulfill the needs of homeowners

and businesses. Through PACA they canobtain items that may be unique orneeded to match an existing feature, suchas a door, floor, or trim. Although we oc-casionally advertise, we depend on ourloyal customers and members to get theword out. We encourage new and repeatcustomers to join PACA.

Items purchased from our warehousein 199~,besides staying in east-central ll-linois, are now at home in California,Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland,Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin. Al-though most of our customers rome fromChampaign-Urbana, many have traveledover a hundred miles to get here Satur-day mornings at 9:30. Among the citiesrepresented this year were: Arcola,Bartlett, Bloomington, Cisco, Clinton,Danville, Decatur, Fairmont, Farmer City,Fisher/Gibson City, Gifford, Hoffman Es-tates, Ivesdale, Lake Forest, Latham,leRoy, Mahomet, Mansfield, Mason City,Mattoon, Monticello, Mowequa, Newton,Ogden, Paxton, Philo, Rantoul, RidgeFarm, Rossville, Sadorus, Schiller Park,Sidney, Shelbyville, Springfield, St.

January-February, 1997 Number 1

106 Water Street, the "new" warehouse space, in July with a newly constructed door rack. Theentire space is currently filled to capacity. All photos by Rich Cahill.

Joseph, Tolono, Villa Grove, West Peoria,and WhiteHeath. .

Most of the material purchased at thePACA warehouse is used by privatehomeowners in remodeling projects.However, there are many examples in thearea where PACA salvage items have alsobeen used in commercial settings. Ex-amples in'Champaign include The BlindPig, Cafe Kopi, Cll-cles,Dragon's Hoard,Garcia's Pizza, Isotech Laboratories,Matthew's House, Radio Maria,Treebouse Consulting, and Village GreenRecords. In Urbana salvage items can beseen at Baxley Media Group, CinemaCafe, Lindley House Bed & Breakfast,and Tony Novak Law Offices. In Mon-ticello the Sage City Cafe and Steeple Gal-lery have installed our materials. We ap-preciate the support of these businessessince there is often an added expense as-sociated with installing used materials.

Gross sales for 1996 were $23,051;netsales, after sales tax, were $21,646. Majorexpenses for 1996 included rent ($3,825),insurance ($1,325), repair and upkeep oftruck ($719), and $876 for miscellaneousexpenses. Included in miscellaneous ex-penses were materiills to build newstorage shelves, metal sandblasting costs,the purchase of a 14.4 V power screw

driver and trash disposal charges. Thisresulted in a net revenue of $14,90 and isan increase from last year's gross sales of$17,588 and net revenue of $11,533. Rentincreased from $200 to $375 per monththis year, but repairs to our salvage truckdropped from $1,518 to $394.

Because of successful sales, during thepast year PACA was able to providefinancial support for the followingprojects: Channing-Murray Foundation(Heritage Grant, $600) to help in restora-tion of stain glass windows, St. PatricksChurch (Heritage Grant, $500) to helppreserve archival material on micro-film,the Forest Preserve's Wood/RobesonHouse near Penfield for stabilization($8,000), Ricker House at 612 West Green,Urbana ($5,000) for stabilization and clos-ing costs. PACA has also continued tocosponsor the popular Kids Building Fairat the Discovery Place; presen~ our an-nual Heritage Awards to honor recent res-toration, rehabilitation or adaptive use ofhistoric buildings in Champaign County;and conduct a very popular tour indowntown Champaign. These grants andactivities would not have been possible if

. it had not been for income'earnedthrough salvage sales. Last year salvagesales represented 75% of PACA receipts.

IL......

Staircasefrom Ul SJreepHerder'shouseonSt.Mary's Road,Chilmpaign.It wassoldintact toafamily restoringahomein Gifford.

RichCahill with a true "project"doorfrom ilfarm houseeastofUrbana.Thedoorhilsbeenrestoredand isnowin Mahomet.

Our supply

One of the unique fea_turesof the PACAsalvage warehouse is the large variety ofitems in stock. A conservative valuation

made this summer of our inventory was$25,000. This included 75 sinks, 275doors, 2 bathtubs, 12-15 pocket doors andhundreds of other items. In past yearsmany of the items in our stock came fromexpansion and remodeling projects at theUniversity of Illinois. In 1996 this con-tinued with materials obtained from the

remodeling of the former universitybookstore/photo shop (Arcade Building),Horticulture Field Laboratory, and theHenry Administration Building.

Approximately fifty structures sal-vaged this year were made available bythe University of Illinois, the City ofChampaign, Champaign Unit 4 SchoolDistrict, the City of Urbana and privatedevelopers. We especially salute GaryBiehl, Cliff Carey, David Garne~ andSteve Hesselschwerdt of the University ofIllinois; John Schneider, Tom Schuh andDorothy David of the City of Champaign;David Grace and Gary Slade of the Cham-paign Unit 4 School District; and MarkReplogle and Steve Cochran of the CityUrbana for helping to facilitate thesedonations. Again this year there was a sig-nificant increase in the number of dona-tions from 'individuals and businesses.

Among the individuals and businessesthat have contributed donations this yearwere: Mr. c.P. Atkins, Tony Bamert, JohnBeecher, Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Beecher,Karen Brandecki, Carle FoundationHospital, Charles Casad, John Cheese-man, Kent Gapper, Jeff & Cathy Cunning-

ham, Jack Dennis, Ruth Fleigel, MaryEllen Fleichli, Cindy & Peter Fonner, Dar-reI Foste, Marilyn Gabhart, Tom Garza,Russ Green, Eric GriHith, Habitat forHumanity, Mr. & Mrs. Chris Hill, HolyCross Parish, Hunsinger Enterprises,Bruce Komadina, Fred Krauss, Mrs. Kur-land, Marc Lobdell, Marcia McRae, Shir-ley Merriman, Pat Moyer, Sarah & RobertNemeth, Alice & Tony Novak, OgdenChristian Church, Jeff & Dee Parkin, GaryPerkins, Robert Porter, John & Judy Prin-gel, Dale Steffensen, Mike & Pam Trout,and Phyllis & Joe Williams.

Some of the items received this yearwere complete stair cases, oak flooring,slate black boards, pedestal sinks,fireplace. mantels, cast iron fireplace in-serts, oak pocket doors, light fixtures,claw-foot bathtUbs, wood shutters, porchcolumns, ceramic floor tile, oak headers,leaded glass windows, mirrors, cornersinks, oak crown molding, porcelain doorknobs, cast iron floor registers, oak desksand newell posts.

We encourage individuals and busi-nesses to contact PACA when consideringdiscarding that unneeded door, tub etc.However, we request that you call firstand not just drop things at thewarehouse. Our space is limited andsome items (old storm windows,radiators, hollow core doors, paintedtrim) we are unable to save.

Although we have had good a supplyof materials Qver the years, it has oftenbeen difficult to store and display manyof our items properly. Our current sal-vage warehouse continues to be inade-quate for our needs. In the.summer andfall of 1996 We moved out of the Univer-

sity Avenue side of the building and con-solidated our material into one of the

spaces that had been formerly occupiedby the Bush Brothers Co. and our"newer" space on Water Street. Thisresulted in a loss of square footage. How-ever, in the process of this short move,items were uncovered that probably hadnot been seen for years; but, more dis-tressing, because of water damage andlack of space, eight pickup loads of trim,windows and doors had to be discarded.

The current space is at full capacity andsome material is still suffering from leaksin the roof.

A great deal of effort has been ex-pended by a number of individuals in anattempt to find new warehouse space.This summer an offer was made to pur-chase a building in Urbana that unfor-tunately was rejected. Recently, we havemade an offer to purchase a building inChampaign; the offer is currently onhold. Owning a suitable building willgive PACA the opportunity to greatly im-prove the services we provide to the com-munity. Imagine a building with dryfloors, lights, parking, adequate stOrageand maybe even heat? We could offer ex-tended hours, have a place to provideresource information on materials andbuilding projects, and conduct hands-onworkshops. So, the search_continues foran affordable, preferably historic, build-'ing in Champaign-Urbana thathas ade-quate square footage, about 2500 or moresquare feet, and visibility for the salesoperation. Members are encouraged tocontact PACA if they know of a possiblebuilding.

A salute to our volunteers

The regular warehouse crew that keepsthe warehouse operation workingsmoothly week to week includes: RichCahill, Cheri Cheno~eth, Dick Elkin,Gary Perkins and Bob Swisher. Thesevery dedicated individuals eagerly wel-come more volunteers to help at thewarehouse. If you have an hour or so freeon a Saturday morning there is always along list of projects that involve organiza-tion/clean-up activities at the warehouse.

There is another much larger group ofindividuals who work behind the scenes

during salvage operations and.waretlOuse clean up days. They include:Susan Appel, Tony Bamert, Jim Downs,Terry England, Sam England, Clen Ger-demann, Al Friederich, Leo Hoponoa,Hank Kaczmarski, Loren Kirkwood,Karen Kummer, Rex Kummer, MikeMiller, Perry Morris, Alice Novak, MarkReplogle, Matt Riggs, Chris Stohr, NeilStrack, Pius Weibel, and Art Zanger!.

Our future?

Stayed tuned. You may all be getting acall to help with a moving party-keepyour fingers crossed. Meantime we willkeep on working to provide an importantresource to the people of east-central ll-linois and help save materials from con-struction and demolition waste.

This article was written by Salvage Co-Chairand Boardmember, Rich Cahill. Tovolunteerfor any salvageactivity, pleasecaIIRich at244-2532.

Volunteers Gary Perkins and Jim Downs enjoy a recent salvage find from a house in Urbana.

Old House Journal New Champaign HistoricPreservation Commission

Once again, PACA is offering OHI groupsubscription rates. For $24 you canreceive this informative preservation/ res-toration magazine and help PACA at thesame time. For gathering a minimum 12subscriptions, PACA receives $120 - aneasy fund raising project. New or renewalsubscriptions are eligible for this offer. Ifyou want to participate, but your sub-scription doesn't expire for a few months,don't worry, your subscription will justbe extended. Send your name, addressand a check for $24 made out to PACA byMarch 5; if renewing, a copy of your ad-dress label is helpful to insure correctrenewals.

The City of Champaign is seeking in-dividuals for appointment to the new His-toric Preservation Commission. Ap-plicants must be residents of the City ofChampaign and should have an interest,expertise, and/ or experience in History,Architectural History, Architecture, His-toric Architecture, Historic or Neighbor-hood Preservation Planning, Planning,Archaeology, or related fields.

In November 1996, the ChampaignCity Council adopted a Historic Preserva-tion Ordinance as part of the City's newZoning Ordinance. The Historic Preserva-tion Ordinance provides for the estab-

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY:

Membership Application P.A.C.A.

o NEWo RENEWAL

o Adult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15.00o Student (1/2 time or more) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00o Senior Citizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00

o Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20.00

o Corporate. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$75.00

NAME

ADDmONAL CONTRIBUTION

ADDRESS

Make checks payable to: PACA, Box 2555, Station A, Champaign, Illinois 61825

lishment of a Historic Preservation Com-

mission consisting of nine individuals tobe appointed by the Mayor. The purposesof the Historic Preservation CommiSsionare to:

. identify historically significant struc-tures or areas;

. advise the Plan Commission and CityCouncil on applications for designa-tions of historic landmarks and dis-tricts;

. review and approve applications forexterior architectural changes onlandmark structures and structureswithin designated conservation or his-toric districts; and,

. perform other functions as may be use.ful/necessary to safeguard and en-hance the community's heritage.

For further information, contact Chris.tine Newbold iri the City of ChampaignPlanning Department at 351-4486. Toreceive an application form for the His-toric Preservation Commission, pleasecontact the Mayor's Office at 351.4417.

Membership Renewals

Please check your address label for yourcurrent membership status. The date onthe label indicates when your dues werelast received. Membership benefits expireone year after that date. Tohelp PACAsave postage costs, please renew prompt.Iy. Receivers of complimentary copies ofthe newsletter are asked to joinPACA inorder to continue to receive the newslet.

ter and to receive additional membershipbenefits. Thank you.

PACA NewsletterArt Zangerl, President

Bruce Creamer, Vice-President

Tony Bamert, Secretary

Rich Cahill, Treasurer

Karen lang Kummer, Exec. Director

Salvage V.I.P.sBob Swisher

Gary PerkinsRich CahillCheri ChenowethGlen GerdemannAI FriederickPius WeibelErica Franke

Salvage DonationsUniversity of IllinoisCity of ChampaignChampaign Unit 4 School DistrictRedith EwingRobert Porter

City of UrbanaJeff Mellander

Habitat for HumanityFolletts College Book Store & Bruce Creamer

Save the Date!

PACA Annual

Membership Meeting

SundayMarch 9, 1997

2-4 pmVirginia Theater

203W. Park Avenue, Champaign

There will be a short business meet.

ing followed by the presentation ofthe 1997 Heritage Awards and a

program on the history of the Vir-ginia Theater and current renova-

. tionplans.

328.PACA: Telephone & Answering Service

Printed on recycled paper

New &: Renewing MembersMichael R. Weber

Barbara, Jim & Matthew PeckhamHenri MerkeloHermie Kruidenier

Mr. & Mrs. Lynn AItenbemdRuth T. WeinardCharles CasadCurtis AbertRichard Cannon

Galer.Unti FamilyWalter & Marguerite MaguireDannel McCollumMr. & Mrs. Frederick Seibold

Cheryl L. Prairie-SteberSally Foote & Thomas WoldRuth YoungermanRon Baker

Jeff Gordon FamilyDianna Visek

Marilyn MorrisMr. & Mrs. E.R. Gordon

Anthony Bamert & November WalkerMr. & Mrs. Edwin C. Rae

Kathryn AnthonyBill &Jamie KruidenierDavid FinetMrs. Irene SlottowBernadine Evans StakeRobbie FarrellPius Weibel & Sue Feldman

Bert & Mary BariCkmanCaroline Hibbard

Sharon RappJames C. BradburyAnne A. Ehrlich

Karl Dane WittrupNorma Jean & John GremerDaniel R. BurkeAllan D. Eckel

Special V.I.P.Kent Snodgrass

NON-PROFIT

ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

CHAMPAIGN,IL

PERMIT NO. 133