This Shingle Style Craftsman Foursquare home was built in 1911 by Charlotte E. Maish. After 20+ years in the Maish family, the home was briefly used as a fraternity and sorority house in the 1930s. It was subdivided into a duplex in the 1960s. It sat vacant without heat for about a decade before purchased for restoration in late 2020.
Steel siding was removed, revealing most of the original original cedar shakes, clapboard siding, and beadboard porch ceiling intact, as well as several rotted fascia boards and loss of protruding wood details that had been removed during steel siding install. The narrow urban site made exterior restoration a challenge, much of which was performed with an oscillating boom lift.
On the interior, challenges included restoring original features, re-establishing the flow as a single-family residence, tastefully integrating modern conveniences, repairing termite damage, and replacing all of the mechanicals, which were either missing or sub-standard.
Financially, the total project costs of rehabilitation about $337,000 exceeded the current market value as a single-family residence. The pro-forma gap was closed with a combination of creative financing, including State historic tax credits, local grant funding from Invest DSM, private debt financing, and sweat equity through management and carpentry labor.
The Charlotte E. Maish house is an excellent example of preservation in one of Des Moines’ oldest and most diverse neighborhoods. It is a model for similar de-conversion projects to be financially viable, and helps establish the Drake Neighborhood as a safe destination for large family homes close to downtown Des Moines.
