2025 Preservation Awards | 1225 & 1229 Lincoln Street
Friday, May 16th 2025
WINNER | Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration (commercial, institutional, rental, or municipal)
1225 & 1229 Lincoln Street
Jerry and Ben's, LLC — Property Owner
Georgia Coundoussias, MCA Architecture — Architect
Boyer Commercial Construction, Inc. — Contractor
Isaac Scheer, Avid Pursuit, LLC — Preservation Consultant
After a generation-long spate of revitalization, Columbia’s Congaree Vista district rarely affords opportunities for revitalizing historic buildings. So, when the former Palmetto Candy & Tobacco store—a architecturally contributing property within the heart of the historic district—came up for sale, rehabilitating the property in a sensitive fashion proved a must for new owner Jerry and Ben’s, LLC. Due to its status within the district, the property benefited from work partially underwritten with historic tax credits.
The project’s scope of exterior rehabilitation involved restoring the façade’s corbeled brick cornice and segmental arches; restoring first-floor entrances and windows; installing over six sash second-floor replacement windows at the 1225 address to match the extant original windows at 1229 Lincoln. New TPO roofing was installed throughout the buildings as well.
Interior work addressed issues throughout the entire three floors at both addresses. A major component of the renovation included structural reinforcement involving carefully elevating sagging portions of the building and reinforcing the areas with steel and wood columns to match the original structure. Asbestos abatement was completed throughout the structure. All original plaster walls were retained throughout the first and second floors. Bricks from openings were used as infill for new areas. Surprises discovered during the rehabilitation involved substantial concealed structural damage—likely dating to a fire in 1921—and the presence of original wood floors initially believed to have been removed during a previous renovation. After consulting with a structural engineer, the construction team stabilized the fire-damaged compromised areas through a combination of new wood and steel framing, which it concealed within the ceiling to maintain the building’s original aesthetic. Thereafter, where practicable, the team retained and refinished original wood flooring while installing new beadboard ceilings that replicated historic fabric. A unique design element involved reinforcing a basement freight elevator to remain with all pulleys and gears still in original positions.
Before images courtesy property owner and contractors. After images courtesy Joshua Aaron Photography.
Before & After | Front
Explore the
Economic Impact Study
This study's findings reinforce our long-held position on the importance of historic preservation for the city's economy and support our work advocating for policies that encourage preservation and the reuse of historic buildings. Columbia’s architectural heritage is not simply an exercise in nostalgia; it is an informed, strategic investment in the future.
Check out some of the other 2025 Preservation Award recipients:
2025 Preservation Awards | Taylor House
When completed in 1908, 1501 Senate Street stood out among neighboring residences for its architectural sophistication. Built for Thomas and Susan Ames Taylor, Jr., following a design by the Boston architectural firm Andrews, Jacques, and Rantoul, the neoclassical mansion ultimately evolved to function in ways for which it was never intended.
2025 Preservation Awards | The Laundry
Adaptive use of historic buildings has played a key role in the success of Columbia’s BullStreet District realizing its full potential. Rehabilitation of the circa-1883 laundry building marks the latest chapter in the decades-long transformation.
2025 Preservation Awards | 1429 Hagood Avenue
Some residences standing in historic and architectural conservation districts like that of Melrose Heights-Oaklawn feature garages and garage apartments established in the 1920s through 1950s. Repurposing elements of properties can involve teaching old buildings new tricks through sensitive adaptations.
2025 Preservation Awards | 1700 Huger Street
In 2016, two of Columbia’s most respected family-owned businesses— Flooring by Cogdill and Cromer’s Peanuts—left what for most passersby was simply a large commercial building featuring a post-modern, multi-story office and retail space from the mid-1980s. In 2022, after nearly six years having stood vacant, 1700 Huger Street found new life when it was purchased and transformed to meet the needs of Columbia Presbyterian Church, a young congregation of over 500 members that had outgrown its previous location in the Cottontown area.