The Vermeulen Building

A significant historic preservation effort transformed three landmark buildings on East Superior Street in downtown Alma, Michigan. Dating from between 1890 and 1917, these structures—including the 1890 Alma State Bank at 116-120 E Superior Street (now known as the Vermeulen Building)—encompassed approximately 20,700 square feet and represented an important part of Alma's Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation Forward served as the historic preservation specialist on this 2024 adaptive reuse project, working closely with owners Nancy Gallagher and Zack Everitt (local attorneys), as well as local, state, and federal partners, architects, and tradespeople while providing both technical guidance and financial incentive expertise. The comprehensive $4.2 million renovation involved extensive infrastructure upgrades including all-new utilities, replacement of doors and windows, complete flooring restoration, and roofing systems, along with substantial structural improvements to exterior concrete work and masonry. The completed development, now featuring the "V" residential units at the second story, brought new vitality to downtown Alma with 14 total residential units—12 upper-level apartments plus two ground-floor units with rear entrances—while preserving space for two commercial businesses and maintaining the law offices of the property owners at 120 E. Superior Street. The project was made financially viable through designation as a brownfield redevelopment site and "functionally obsolete" property, securing approximately $1 million in tax incentives and environmental remediation assistance, and was one of just eight projects statewide to receive financial support from the Michigan Strategic Fund.