The Iowa Economic Development Authority has awarded Brucemore over $330,000 through the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program. This program “provides a state income tax credit to encourage the rehabilitation of historic buildings while maintaining the architectural features that make them significant.”
This award is for the Servants’ Village Envelope Restoration Project, which started construction in early 2025. The work addresses critical areas of failure and degradation to the exterior structures of three buildings: the Servants’ Duplex (1909), Lord & Burnham Greenhouse (1915), and Bookbindery (1912). These buildings are part of what is known as the Servants’ Village at Brucemore, comprising multiple buildings designed to serve the hired help, accessible via a separate entrance on Dows Lane, and featuring a similar architectural style and color palette.
Servants’ Duplex: This building is a one-and-a-half-story mirror-image duplex with each side containing a basement, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, an enclosed rear porch, and an attic. This project addresses severe structural issues present in the foundation and brick chimneys, repairs and restores the exterior envelope, including all windows and doors, rebuilds the failing porches, and provides necessary drainage away from the building foundation.
Lord & Burnham Greenhouse: The structure is comprised of a small, front-gabled house with a basement and an attached, even-span, curved-eave greenhouse. A 2021-2022 project restored the glass enclosure, which was heavily damaged in the 2020 derecho storm. This project will repair the front house by addressing the envelope, shingle siding, and wood trim. It will add a louver to provide proper ventilation.
Bookbindery: This structure originally served a dual purpose as a hobby space for binding books and a squash court. It is two stories with wide, exposed eaves, visible rafters, white trim, and brown wood shingle siding. The interior was renovated in 1942 into a residence, and in 1975, a full-width screened porch was added facing Dows Lane. This project addresses the repairs necessary to the windows and doors, shingle siding, and stormwater drainage issues.
Addressing the three buildings simultaneously allows for an economy of scale when soliciting bids and shared mobilization costs.
This is Brucemore’s third award through the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. The prior two awards were for the Mansion Envelope Restoration Project and the Sitewide Derecho Recovery Projects. The program is competitive and requires a substantial application process with the State Historic Preservation Office and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. All projects must meet The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
The Servants’ Village Envelope Restoration Project is funded by the generosity of The Hall Perrine Foundation and Preservation Fund donors. You can learn more about opportunities to invest in Brucemore’s future by visiting www.brucemore.org/give. Brucemore also thanks the City of Cedar Rapids for its support of this project by declaring September 2025 as “Brucemore Month.“
For more information on the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program awards, click here.
To keep up with Brucemore’s projects, click here.