Rethinking Institutional Properties
3
Institutions provide social, economic,
and cultural benefits to our communities
and are an essential component of our
neighborhoods. The buildings that house
these institutions are usually architecturally
prominent gathering places or employment
centers that contribute to our sense
of place. Just as communities evolve
and transform over time, so must our
institutions adapt to changing economic and
demographic trends and social preferences.
To survive, institutions are often faced
with the choice of consolidating, moving,
or when all else fails, closing. When that
happens, they often leave behind vacant,
underutilized buildings located in the heart
of our communities. Through adaptive
reuse, these buildings can be given a new
life and continue to contribute to society.
This guidebook focuses on schools,
places of worship, hospitals, and
government buildings because they are
the most common types of institutions
in Montgomery County. There are more
Rethinking
Institutional Properties
than 2,100 institutional buildings in
the county, many of which are and will
remain active centers of the community.
This guidebook provides guidance to
municipalities for the adaptive reuse of
those institutional properties which have
closed. It explores the benefits and
challenges of adaptive reuse, contains
case studies of successful institutional
adaptive reuse in the county, and
provides best practices in planning and
design to community leaders; developers;
architectural, planning, and design
professionals; and citizens.
This guidebook supports the goals
of
Montco 2040: A Shared Vision,
the county’s comprehensive plan,
by encouraging collaboration and
partnerships among stakeholders,
supporting strong downtowns, and
promoting the preservation of historic
architecture to enhance community
character.
Institutional buildings, like St. Michael’s Catholic Church in
Mont Clare, are located in the heart of our communities.
