|
Leslie Clement (413) 567-7887
Caring for clients along their real estate journey in Western Massachusetts |
|
Restorer likes new challenges Springfield Republican March, 1986
By Marcia Motichek March 2, 1986
“Small in scale is how I see my next restoration project,” said Leslie Clement in a May 1989 interview.
That’s how she saw her future back then. Leslie Clement is now 26. And her journeyman experience for a local construction firm has served her well. She now owns her own restoration company, Clement Restorations.
Twenty houses, either in completion or in the process of completion have been brought back to life, thanks to Clement’s energies and far-sightedness about the Watershops area, just beyond the historic Maple Hill District. All the properties in her portfolio were homes which had fallen prey in abandonment or neglect by absentee owners.
_____________________
Following the Maple Street renovation of the house she now calls home, she set her mind to restore the Samuel Spooner cottage on upper Central Street.
“The Spooner cottage was a charming little house. And at $8000, it was a real bargain,” she said. “Architecturally, it was still pretty much intact with beautiful moldings and banisters. It had a small round window above the front entry and a bracketed bay window that was added about 1865. I contacted the Springfield Redevelopment Authority about the house. The SRA, by the way, has made an enormous commitment to the Watershops neighborhood in the form of low-interest loans and grant programs. With its help, I was able to restore the house, and upon completion, it was featured on the Springfield Preservation Trust tour in 1984.”
While laid off from her seasonal work as a union carpenter apprentice, Leslie spent the winter with her friend Joe Mougin, a retired carpenter. Together they restored the little brick house, making their own kitchen cabinets, fixing historic hardware and sanding floors. “Joe taught me so many technical skills like how to spline in a patch on an old door that has been busted in, how to fix the ropes and weights which make old windows operate
While working on the Spooner house, Clement said she was drawn to a brick duplex at 406-410 Central Street, known as the Kelley House. The house, which was built around 1840, was a fine example of Federal architecture with a third floor fanlight arch and classic symmetry. “It was a quarter of a mile from the Watershops, then known as the Springfield Armory. Unfortunately, it looked out over a blighted neighborhood; too many cluttered empty lots that were once well-tended yards,” said Clement.
“It was laid out as side-by-side twin townhouses with identical floor plans, eight intact fireplaces, wide pine floors, ornate brick corbelling and an original glass fanlights with a handcrafted summer shutter,” she said.
Although the Kelley House was not for sale at the time, Clement says she worked hard to convince the two elderly sisters living there to sell. Before the closing on that house, another late Victorian across the street came up for sale. “In a daring mood, I made a low purchase offer. That was accepted. But before that closing, four more houses down the block on Pine Street became available. Despite the reputation of the neighborhood, I decided to take the plunge and do my part to renovate the houses in the hopes it might lift the spirits of the area.”
On a shopping spree for bargain-basement houses in the summer of 1984, Clement dug deep once again and with the help of a local bank she bought six more neglected houses.
“I was tapped out when it came time for renovation funding, I didn’t really want to turn to more commercial lending. One day downtown, I ran into Mayor Richard Neal and proceeded to tell him of my plans for the Central and Pint Street. He invited me to present the proposal to Community Development and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority.”
“They were convinced, and with their efforts, I was able to secure a low-interest HUD loan to revitalize the houses in the Watershops area.”
It seemed to be just the spark needed for other homeowners in the area. About that time, she says, neighbors Ken and Marian Ralph purchased a lovely Central Street house and did a light but effective rehab with Leslie’s help.
Clement’s most recent renovation endeavors include the Madison Avenue townhouses just off Central Street. Beautiful and stately, the homes are actually two separate houses joined at the party wall with separate plots of land. The house was built for two brothers around 1860 represents a $150,000 renovation. Clement has restored the lovely carvings and pediments on the outside. Inside, amenities include oversized bathtubs and large new kitchens. The townhouses, as Clement’s other renovations, remain as her rental properties.
Work-in-progress includes the Bay Street Castle, a stunning brownstone with an onion dome surrounded by turrets. When completed, they will be six railroad-style apartments.
“Some people have said that I might be getting in over my head. But it’s my belief that if you’re into something for a penny, it might just as well be for a pound. Besides, all I have to do is remember the first house I started with. It seems to be getting easier!” Clement says with a laugh.
|
|
_____________________________________________________________________ |
|
Retired Friend and Carpenter Joe Mougin |