TEAM UPDATE

Building Connections in Milwaukee

The Heritage team recently gathered in Milwaukee for our annual all-company meeting, combining professional development with opportunities to connect in person. The week included team-building seminars, collaborative discussions, and tours of several Heritage projects that showcased the impact of our work firsthand. The retreat was especially meaningful as it marked the first opportunity for many of us to meet our new West Coast team members in person. Beyond the formal agenda, the gathering provided valuable time to strengthen relationships, share ideas, and enjoy each other's company, returning home energized and inspired for the year ahead.

What does it take to bring a century-old grand hotel back to life? In the latest edition of Novogradac's Historic Tax Credit Tool Box, Heritage Consulting Group President Cindy Hamilton explores the remarkable rehabilitation of San Antonio’s historic Gunter Hotel.

Supported by federal and state historic tax credits, the $57 million project transformed the iconic 1909 landmark while preserving the architectural features and cultural legacy that have defined it for generations. From its ties to blues legend Robert Johnson and the origins of United States Army Automobile Association (USAA) to the challenges of modernizing a historic hospitality property, the Gunter’s story offers a fascinating look at how historic tax credits can help position landmark buildings for long-term success.

Read the full article to learn how creative problem-solving, strong collaboration with reviewing agencies, and a clear vision helped restore one of Texas’s most storied hotels to its place at the center of San Antonio’s cultural and social life. (Images courtesy of the Gunter Hotel).

This is part of a series highlighting Heritage Consulting Group projects in celebration of America's semiquincentennial. Our work in commercial real estate unites our love of history and architecture with building reuse. Our best projects uncover fascinating facts about the buildings we are working on and the communities that they are part of. Let's celebrate #America250 together through the lens of historic preservation.

The next stop on our summer road trip takes us to New Glarus, Wisconsin, where one historic hotel tells the story of an entire community's reinvention. In the 1960s, local leaders launched Project Edelweiss, transforming downtown into a Swiss-inspired destination to preserve the town's heritage and revitalize its economy. The New Glarus Hotel became a centerpiece of that vision, and today its rehabilitation is helping write the next chapter. Read on to discover how heritage tourism, historic preservation, and one passionate community came together to create one of Wisconsin's most distinctive places.

The Walker School in Merriam, Kansas, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Constructed in 1888, it appears that the school initially served an integrated student body that reflected the composition of the surrounding neighborhood. The school became a segregated facility for Black students in the early twentieth century after a new school was built nearby for white students. In 1949, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Black families who challenged the district's discriminatory practices in Webb v. School District No. 90, leading to the integration of the district years before Brown v. Board of Education. The building later became home to Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church, whose congregation included families connected to the desegregation effort. Heritage was proud to support this important National Register nomination through our Giving Back program.

heritage-consulting.com

P (215) 248-1260