Birch Ave. Cottage is the latest historic preservation project for the Townsite Community Land Trust. This 1920’s home was upgraded to make it more energy and water efficient while maintaining its historic quality.

In addition to its goal of creating more affordable housing in Flagstaff, TCLT focuses on the restoration and maintenance of Flagstaff’s historic buildings and character. Required owner-occupancy also helps to stabilize historic neighborhoods.

Can you believe this Flagstaff home had no insulation? The upgrade included adding blown-in cellulose insulation to the walls and spray foam insulation to the floor and lid.

The old furnace was upgraded to a 95%-efficient gas furnace.

An Energy Star-certified on-demand gas water heater was installed.

A motion sensor was installed that will activate an exhaust fan when the bathroom is in use- an easy way to provide additional ventilation to the home.

High efficiency LED lighting was installed.

Fixtures in the home were upgraded to WaterSense-labeled ones. WaterSense fixtures use up to 30% less water than fixtures meeting the federal standards.

Historic fixtures like this mail slot cover were refurbished and retained.

Love this historic built-in ironing board! This one includes a smaller board for ironing sleeves.

Most of the historic windows were refurbished and retained. These new windows mimic the historic ones they replaced.

Another refurbished fixture (with an LED light bulb!)

Original doorknobs contribute to the historic character.

The historic stone garage in the back was also stabilized and preserved.

Sloping concrete bond beams were poured at the top of the stone walls and the roof was redone.

The finished garage incorporates reclaimed windows from another building, the old back door from the house and custom-made doors for the front.