DeKalb Downtown Survey and Design Guidelines

DeKalb is widely recognized for its diverse residential, institutional and commercial architecture and has had an active community preservation program for more than thirty years. The City of DeKalb was seeking to survey and inventory the properties in their Downtown District in order to determine their architectural and historical significance, as well as their eligibility for local and National Register listing. The City also wished to prioritize individual buildings in need of rehabilitation and to create a set of design guidelines. The Lakota Group conducted an intensive-level survey, identified individual rehabilitation projects, and prepared a set of Design Guidelines for the Downtown District. The Guidelines address building rehabilitation and restoration methods, additions, landscape elements, and green and energy efficiency techniques. The Guidelines document will be used by the DeKalb Landmark Commission for reviewing changes to downtown buildings and is a companion to existing guidelines for new construction.