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Rethinking Institutional Properties
Embracing Our Past and Investing in Our Future
Achieving Your
Community’s Vision
Good planning can lay the groundwork for the
smooth transition and exciting transformation
of an institutional use to a new use in a
refurbished building. This guidebook shows
how this has been done successfully in
the county and suggests ordinances and
funding to bring adaptive reuse projects to
fruition. Successful adaptive reuse requires
a proactive approach. Instead of waiting and
hoping for a developer to come and envision
a reuse for an empty or declining institution
in your community, you can accelerate the
redevelopment process by providing guidance
to developers by inventorying and prioritizing
institutional properties, allowing for new uses,
and setting clear but flexible design standards.
When the county was writing its new
comprehensive plan,
Montco 2040: A Shared
Vision
, many people commented on Montgomery
County’s rich heritage and the importance of
historic buildings in our neighborhoods. It is part
of what is loved about the county. Adaptive
reuse lends an air of excitement and vitality to
an area and can help achieve community goals.
When this collaborative, visionary process
involves the community, meets the needs of the
developer, and preserves and enhances the best
a property has to offer, your community will
have a landmark to enjoy for future generations
to come.
Rittenhouse Apartments, Norristown.
