Awards of Excellence:

Fort Riley Main Post Residential

The Fort Riley Main Post Historic District is home to over 100 historic residences, dating from the earliest days of the fort in the 1850s through to the New Deal-era construction of the 1930s. By 2006, the homes were considered outdated and were hard to lease, with many military families choosing to live elsewhere. That year management of the housing was taken over by Corvias Military Living through a long-term lease with the US Army, as part of the Army’s housing privatization efforts to reduce its housing budget while improving living conditions for the military. Corvias’ housing program included the construction of new homes in the non-historic areas of the fort, but they also took on the task of upgrading the historic housing to current standards. Plans specific to each of the 39 different historic residence types were created, allowing for the preservation of the historic character of each type while ensuring the new amenities complemented the original structure. Interior and exterior maintenance and utility upgrades were performed, while the main work focused on upgraded kitchen, bath, and bedroom spaces with added storage. New efficient air conditioning and heating systems, fixtures and lighting ensured the units would meet modern living standards. Extensive landscaping improvements were made to the district to improve its appearance as a neighborhood, and the Corvias Main Post Neighborhood Office was located in a historic four-plex apartment building in the neighborhood’s core. Today the massive stewardship and rehabilitation project is nearing completion, with its total of 253 living units once again enticing soldiers to live on the Main Post.

State historic preservation tax credits were utilized to fund this rehabilitation.

The project team included: Corvias Group; Fort Riley; and Spencer Preservation.