The story of the Monroe Street Abbey restoration in Phoenix, Arizona, is one of vision and perseverance. Erected originally as a Baptist church in 1929, this Italian Gothic Revival building is one of the oldest structures in the city. Nearly destroyed by a fire in 1984, today it stands as both a landmark and a testament to innovative renewal and transformation.
Thanks to Old Republic Surety, the project’s most recent phase was successfully completed in the spring of 2024. Old Republic Surety wrote a $5.3 million bond for Patry Building Company LLC to finish the restoration that had begun prior to the pandemic.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, but it nearly burned to the ground two years later. Former Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard stepped in to save it from demolition and persuaded the nonprofit Housing Opportunity Center to purchase it in 1992. It took more than 20 years for Goddard to raise the funds necessary to begin restoring what is now called the Monroe Street Abbey and to realize his dream of creating a downtown hub for events, galleries, restaurants and commercial use. Under the auspices of the Abbey Historic Restoration Limited Partnership, work began in earnest in 2016.
Out of the ruins, a place to gather
Rather than rebuild the entire structure — which would have been costly — plans were drawn up to stabilize the walls and turn the original sanctuary into an open courtyard and event space. The century-old bricks, archways and columns remain exposed, and a rosette window, several balconies and a bell tower survive as key architectural elements. Flanking the courtyard on the west side is a newer, two-story building that was renovated and built out to support the courtyard with restrooms, a “greenroom,” a commercial kitchen, and a space at the front for a future restaurant. The buildings on the north side and east side of the Courtyard will be developed in a future phase.
Dan Patry, the general contractor for the restoration work, has a long relationship with the project. His wife, Katherine Patry, a local commercial real estate broker, served as president of the Housing Opportunity Center and was a passionate advocate for the Abbey’s restoration. After she passed away in 2021, Dan took up where Katherine left off and committed to seeing the project through.
Patry had already completed $2 million in unbonded work to stabilize the building, but the lender for the project required a performance and payment bond for the next phase. “We’re a relatively small contractor,” says Patry, “so I had not secured a bond of this size before. In fact, almost all my work had been with private owners and hadn’t required bonding.”
Patry turned to Cliff Spickler of INSURICA for help. “Dan had the best possible character references for a contractor,” Spickler relates, “and I felt Old Republic Surety would be willing to support him based on his reputation and the strength of his personal and corporate financials.”
An executive of Old Republic Surety based in Phoenix became interested in the project and agreed to meet Patry and tour the site. The representative was immediately impressed by Patry’s knowledge and his plans for the project. It was clear that he had an extremely firm understanding of the job, what needed to happen and how to get it done.
Although restoration projects can often bring surprises, Old Republic Surety concluded that Patry knew the building well. Plus, he had already stabilized the site. He had good, long-term relationships with his subcontractors, a deep relationship with the owner, prior experience with the engineers and architects, and had proven he could make a profit. As these risks fell away, it allowed Old Republic Surety to become comfortable with the financial piece of it.
Overcoming hurdles to preserve history
“We ultimately were able to get approval for one of the most exciting renovation projects in downtown Phoenix,” Spickler says. “It’s an example of where reputation and relationships won the day for a very good contractor.”
Although the outcome has been extremely positive, Patry says there have been hurdles along the way. Among them were getting lender financing for the project, a spike in building material costs and supply-chain delays. Still, he’s proud that he was able to complete this relatively difficult project during a period of volatile construction markets at just 2% over the original budget.
Patry says Old Republic Surety has been an enthusiastic partner in the restoration. City officials have praised it as “the highest form of historic preservation and adaptive reuse in Phoenix.” And it recently was named a winner of the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honors Awards for outstanding achievement in preserving Arizona’s historic resources.
Monroe Abbey Project at a Glance
- $5.3 million bond
- Restoration and adaptive reuse of the historic Monroe Street Abbey
- Owner: Abbey Historic Restoration Limited Partnership, Phoenix, Arizona
- Contractor: Patry Building Company LLC, Phoenix, Arizona
- Agent: Cliff Spickler, INSURICA, Phoenix, Arizona
- Old Republic Surety representative: Ryan Spriggs, Phoenix, Arizona
Sources
https://azstateparks.com/press/arizona-state-historic-preservation-office-announces-the-annual-governors-heritage-preservation-honor-awards
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