Set In Stone

A century ago, craftspeople spent endless hours doing intricate work on the exterior of buildings that is seldom replicated today.

So, when an old structure such as a museum, library, or brick apartment complex needs restoration, many people believe it will be impossible to reconstruct portions of the original façade or match it exactly without spending a lot of money, especially since colors of brick and mortar change and fade over time.

But Raymond James Restoration Inc. of Worcester and Springfield has been debunking that notion for 15 years. “Restoration work is an art, and a lot of projects can be expensive. But restoration is all we do and because of our background, experience and knowledge, our repairs match so well no one ever knows they were done,” said Raymond James Simoncini, who founded the business. He added that although perfect matches take extra time, the company’s well-honed methods allow them to complete projects at reasonable prices.

Details are important to Simoncini, and like the craftsmen of yesterday, he has dedicated his career to restoring buildings to their former grandeur so people can continue to enjoy their original beauty for generations to come.

“I want things to look right. I love old buildings and their history,” he said. “Appearance is very important to me and it doesn’t take that much more time to do something correctly, which is one of the secrets to my success.”

Simoncini grew up in the construction business and sharpened his skills under the tutelage of a dedicated mason who had taught the craft at a vocational high school and loved restoration work. Since that time, he has gone from working for others, to operating a one-man operation, to managing a business which employs eight people with services that range from masonry restoration of building facades, to historic revitalizations, to the many aspects of masonry repair, masonry cleaning and protection services, and maintenance consultation services. His roster of services also encompasses concrete precast repair and replacement and waterproofing coating and painting.

The majority of the work is done in the commercial arena. Currently, the company is engaged in the first phase of a project on one of the buildings that make up Stockbridge Court in Springfield.
“It’s made of concrete, and some of the material was falling off,” Simoncini explained, adding that water had seeped in behind the façade. The job involves treating the steel frame, which has rusted, and re-coating the entire structure with waterproof paint.

However, many of his projects are far more challenging and range from sites in Worcester and the Boston area to UMass Amherst. And since some sites are large and the work must be done in stages to accommodate budgets, Simoncini also does consultation work and develops plans that prioritize the importance of repairs that need to be done.
“They can range from safety issues to cosmetics,” he explained. “So, I fine tune the jobs so people know where to spend their money.”

Concrete Examples
Simoncini’s introduction to the construction business came at a young age when he began working for his father. He studied business in college, and although he continued working for his dad, he began taking on jobs of his own. In time, he was hired by a masonry-restoration company whose work included many high-end projects in Boston, on Newbury Street, Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

While employed there, he was mentored by Michael McCarthy, a mason and teacher who cared deeply about restoration work. “He taught me how to match bricks and mortar, which has allowed me to separate myself from my competitors,” Simoncini said. “He sculpted me into restoration.”

During that time, Simoncini gained two clients who had so much for him to do, the time he spent on their projects soon equaled the 40 hours he was putting in at with his employer.
When the firm’s business began to slow, Simoncini did some work for other companies, as he had joined the local mason’s union. But at age 24, he made the decision to go into business himself, and quickly became extremely busy due to word-of-mouth referrals, which to this day is how he gets most of his work.

“I can find any brick and make it look old, and can match any mortar in a wall,” he said, adding that his company has doubled the amount of work it has done each year for the past three years.
Simoncini has never shied away from a challenge, and has faced many during his career. A good example is the historic Edgell Memorial Library in Framingham, which was built in 1872 to commemorate the service of Civil War soldiers.

The slate roof was being replaced, and that meant the library’s two stone chimneys needed to come down and put back up exactly the way they had been built.

“Every stone had to come off and be labeled; we took photos and made a diagram, but putting something like that back together is not foolproof,” Simoncini explained. “The biggest challenge was that the mortar joints had to be exactly the same size as they had been and had to line up perfectly.”

The crews were able to accomplish the painstaking job to Simoncini’s standards, which he said are often higher than those expressed by the clients who hire him.

And that’s one of the reasons why there are many similarly challenging assignments in the company’s portfolio. Another example is the work undertaken at the   Worcester Historical Museum.

Crews from Raymond James tore down its chimney, and, while rebuilding it, discovered that 100 of its 300 bricks were not salvageable. Rather than putting all of the new bricks in one section, they carefully mixed them into the design so they were not visible. Simoncini said it would have been easier to put them all at the top or bottom of the chimney, but his focus has always been on restoration that is not visible. It was also difficult to match the 50-year-old mortar, but the ability to do such detailed work is what sets him apart, he said, adding, “I am very, very particular in everything I do.”

Another assignment that came complete with a number of challenges was the courtyard of the Rhode Island Federal Courthouse, where some of the pillars needed brick-replacement work. Simoncini explained that water had gotten between the bricks and the steel supporting rods and had pushed the bricks out. In order to get an exact match for 300 bricks, he purchased 1,600 so he could carefully pick and choose among them. “When you order bricks, they come in cubes of 500, and the shades are different colors,” he explained.

But he wasn’t content until he had found a perfect match. “I believe that the work I do is a direct reflection of me, and I won’t use something that isn’t right,” Simoncini said.

“Some people have been told that a certain color brick doesn’t exist anymore,” he told BusinessWest. “But it’s not true. In 15 years, we have never run into a brick we couldn’t find.”
He added that he does a good deal of work for property managers. “They are always trying to save dollars, but they want things to look right, and the reason I have been successful is because that is exactly what I do.”

His company also did brick-replacement, repointing, and sealant work on the Student Union at UMass Amherst. “The sealant was challenging because we were removing mortar in between the capstones and replacing it with the sealant and it had to match the original mortar that we removed. But the project engineer for UMass told us it was the best caulking job he had seen during his career,” Simoncini recalled with pride.

A Full Slate
By utilizing its own team members, Raymond James Restoration is able to control quality as well as project timelines and budgets, since it doesn’t have to wait for subcontractors, which means there no scheduling delays.

And although Simoncini said he could choose to take on more-costly projects in large cities such as Boston, his goal has always been to use his expertise to restore old buildings at rates that people could afford — providing a perfect match even when others have said it cannot be done.

And that has helped him cement a reputation that is, well, rock solid.

 

 

Worcester's urban neighborhoods seeing new life

Upgrades include new or expanding businesses
BUSINESS MATTERS COVER STORY

By Jon Towne CORRESPONDENT

WORCESTER If the city's heart is downtown, busy roads leading to it are its arteries. But the businesses along Main, Chandler, Pleasant and Park streets wish more people would stop and spend a little money before they drive by.

Efforts to improve the business environment of these neighborhoods, and to attract investors, have taken years. Shrewsbury Street has been renovated and restaurants have blossomed. Pleasant Street is no longer one-way. Streetscaping on Chandler Street includes new street lights and storefronts.

Now, there's evidence it's paying off. A new retail building is planned for a vacant lot in Main South. A food store is opening on Pleasant Street; and a Park Avenue restaurant is expanding. Housing improvements in the Chandler Street area appear to be providing customers who support businesses.

“There's been a lot of changes, driven in large part by a real grass-roots initiative coming from the private sector to help grow this community,” said Timothy McGourthy, the city economic development director. “The challenge is convincing people outside the area that there is value within the area.”

The Chandler Street Business Association recently listed retail and residential business improvements in the area in a letter to the City Council. It also opposed building more lower-income housing in the neighborhood.

“There are many other examples that one can see just driving around. … It's time that the Worcester City Council takes closer notice of these happenings,” wrote Paul Collyer, association president.

There's no arguing improvements are happening. They include:

• Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Marketplace, at 408 Pleasant St. Mr. Hyder is expanding the restaurant's space in a former fire station, in response to increased demand for ethnic foods and spices.

• A former gas station and cab company at 779 Main St., at the intersection of Main and LaGrange streets, is being renovated into a new restaurant by developer Arthur Mooradian.

• A business block at 781-795 Main St., which includes the Main Street Superette and once housed Island Bakery, now is home to the Straight Up Cafe and a related thrift and clothing store.

• A new 10,000-square-foot building, which will house a major retailer, is planned at 835 Main St., opposite Dunkin' Donuts at the intersection of Hammond and Main streets. Construction may start early next year.

• Wilson Wang, owner of the award-winning Baba Sushi restaurant at 309 Park Ave., is opening a second restaurant in December called Kozara in the former Store 16 at 301 Park Ave. The new restaurant will sell Asian tapas and feature a raw and Tori bar.

• The Living Earth Whole Foods Market & Supplement Center at 232 Chandler St., owned by Albert and Maggy Maykel, has expanded its business online and is improving its organic foods offerings.

• EVO Dining, which is in the same building at The Living Earth but is owned and operated by the Maykels' children, is marking its fourth anniversary. It was named Worcester's Best Overall Restaurant this year in Worcester Living magazine.

One key to attracting customers is renovation, said Mr. Hyder of the Mediterranean Marketplace. “Construction always shows confidence, and that people are looking towards the future for better times,” he said.

“We need space for future expansion of the lines we are carrying and proper storage,” he said. “Our customers come from around the city and the region. I get people from out of state that make regular trips in.”

Mr. Mooradian, owner of Mooradian Real Estate, hopes to break ground in February on a new 10,000-square-foot retail building at Main and Hammond streets. It is one of many projects he has under way in Main South.

“It is a major retailer, and it took a lot of convincing to get him to go there and to put their faith in (Council) District 4 and Main Street and to spend the money,” he said. “We have a bad reputation, but a lot of it is undeserved. A lot of people are afraid just to go to District 4.”

Government funding cannot solve all the city's problems, he said.

“Things don't happen by themselves. People think it's going to be good if you get a grant, if you get the government to help you,” he said. “Any sustainable improvement has to come from within the community and from the people.”

Infrastructure improvements are also under way in Main South, which already features a wide variety of ethnic businesses. A large part of the street has been recently repaved and efforts and are under way to improve building storefronts.

Ms. Maykel, matriarch of the family that created Living Earth and EVO Dining, said Worcester retailers face stereotypes, not only about Chandler Street but about Worcester itself, in trying to attract customers.

“It is a wonderful thing to develop your city, but you need to patronize it, develop it, live in it and make it a community,” said Ms. Maykel. “They move out to the towns, and they say, `We love West Boylston.' Well, what's wrong with Worcester?”

Celeste Maykel and Albert Maykel III, siblings and co-owners of EVO Dining, said perceptions of crime in Main South are exaggerated.

“I don't think there's anything that happens here that is more than what happens anywhere else. People just focus on it more,” she said.

Albert Maykel Jr., son of the late Worcester District Court Judge Albert Maykel, said while Chandler Street is a better location than his business' former spot on Pleasant Street, it won't help unless he can get passersby to patronize his business.

“Chandler is a thoroughfare, from one side of the city to the other. Unless you slow travelers down, they're going to just zip right through,” he said. “But if you have shops that appeal to them, they feel more comfortable stopping.”

Mr. Collyer believes commercial success rests on interdependence among housing, jobs, businesses and customers. He thinks hosting three Community Development Commissions — each pushing redevelopment of low-income housing with federal and state money — hurts business.

Businesses need more middle-class housing moving in, not low-income housing, he said.

“Ask them who the majority of their customers are, whether they're coming from the immediate neighborhood, and they'll say no,” he said.

“They're (the CDCs) developing entire streets, entire neighborhood blocks. We just don't feel that's necessary,” he said in an interview. “People talk about bringing the middle class back to the Canal District and City Square. We want the same thing down here on Chandler.”

Mr. Mooradian agrees. Private housing developers can't compete with the CDCs' subsidized housing, he said.

“They're (the CDCs) building units for $350,000 and selling them for $125,000,” he said.

Mr. Collyer lives in one of the three-deckers he restored, and organizes an annual blues and jazz festival intended to promote the neighborhood.

“I've bought burned-out buildings in the neighborhood, and there would be five others next to you. But that's no longer the case. There are a lot of people who are investing in the neighborhood,” he said.

He favors renaming the area “The Village of Piedmont.” The Maykels say Becker College is studying other possible names.

Mr. Hyder has another idea: “Call it Park Avenue East. That sounds fancier.” (Chandler is named for a leading colonial family loyal to the British that was expelled after the Revolution.)

Mr. McGourthy compared the area to sections of Boston, particularly Jamaica Plain, where ethnic and racial diversity breed prosperity.

“It has a great opportunity to build on all the things that create a vital, interesting area,” he said.

“Shrewsbury Street is ahead of Chandler in terms of encouraging a pedestrian experience, but I think Chandler is pushing in that direction. The more density, the more restaurants, the more bars and night life you can get down there, the more it will start to take hold as a destination,” he said.