JSA Design Part Of Team Awarded Preservation Honors For Carey Cottage At Creek Farm Restoration

Member news from the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth:

May 19, 2021

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PORTSMOUTH—JSA Design is a member of the design and construction team receiving a 2021 Preservation Achievement Award from the NH Preservation Alliance for work on Carey Cottage at Creek Farm, a historic property in Portsmouth. Carey Cottage was one of seven rescue, revitalization and rehabilitation projects spotlighted by the Preservation Alliance during its May 12 awards announcement. “These are the kinds of places we can’t imagine New Hampshire without, and we want to recognize the people who have worked to save and revive these landmarks,” says Jennifer Goodman, executive director of the Preservation Alliance.

“The restoration of Carey Cottage has been an incredibly meaningful project for JSA,” says Tracy Kozak, JSA principal. “This historic building is a backbone of Portsmouth. Ensuring that the building's safety, usefulness, and durability continue long into the future reinforces our commitment to community heritage and cultural resources. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this visionary team.”

Carey Cottage, built between 1888-1892 as a summer home for Portsmouth philanthropist Arthur Astor Carey, was slated for demolition until a community campaign to save it led to a partnership between a local philanthropist and a developer to restore the historic building in 2020. The Arts & Crafts-style structure is a premier example of Gilded Age, shingle-style architecture in New Hampshire, and the only remaining intact building in the state designed by Boston architect Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. Restoration included addressing structural needs, improving the building envelope, unobtrusively incorporating new mechanical systems and repairing windows and wooden finishes. Apartments on the second-floor were upgraded for continued residential use. First-floor rooms that had been converted into apartments became offices for non-profit start-ups. Now owned by The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the cottage is home to several nonprofit organizations including GoodWork, a nonprofit incubator.

JSA’s design work on Carey Cottage was also recognized with the 2021 Rick and Duffy Monahon Merit Award for Design Excellence in Architectural Restoration and Preservation from the American Institute of Architects – New Hampshire and an 2020 Advocates Award from the Portsmouth Advocates, a local preservation group.

JSA Design designated Business of the Year by Business NH Magazine

JSA Design has been named 2021 Business of the Year in Construction Services by Business NH Magazine and the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Businesses of the Year were named in 10 industry categories; winners were selected from a pool of applicants from across New Hampshire.

“We’re honored to be named a Business of the Year,” says North Sturtevant, CEO of JSA. “JSA has created award-winning design for 40 years but what sets us apart is that we center our work on designing spaces for people with diverse and demanding living and learning needs, whether it’s a senior living community or creating accessible outdoor dining opportunities during a year that’s been challenging for so many.”

Businesses supporting JSA’s nomination cited the firm’s ongoing efforts to help the city of Portsmouth and its restaurants develop safe, accessible outdoor dining opportunities during the pandemic as well as create pop-up dining and entertainment venues downtown. Robin LeBlanc, executive director of Plan NH, noted in her nomination letter, “JSA deserves to be Business of the Year for its contribution to the lives of those who cannot move as freely as the rest. They have applied their professional and personal knowledge to, and for, the greater good.”

Founded in 1980, JSA Design is an architecture, planning and interior design firm specializing in senior living, education, healthcare, housing and mixed-use environments. JSA's most recent New England clients include Dartmouth College, Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Sunrise Senior Living. For more information, visit www.jsainc.com.

This press release was produced by the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth. The views expressed are the author's own.