Angie’s List aims to inspire and encourage members who live in and work on historic homes. In addition to giving homeowners a great source to look for qualified help, we sponsor the annual Old House Rehab Award to recognize those who spend their money and time on historic homes that were once considered eyesores of the neighborhood.
The Angie’s List Old House Rehab Award is given in conjunction with Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. The foundation recognizes Indianapolis-area projects that exemplified their owners’ commitment to maintaining and improving Central Indiana buildings a neighborhoods.
Angie’s List members Lee Smith and Mark Webb of Indianapolis took the top prize for a homeowner rehabilitating a home following preservation guidelines. Their two-story Arts-and-Crafts home was once a half-burnt shell and a magnet for criminal activity in their Meridian Park neighborhood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The couple purchased the home in 2006 for $26,000 and spent two years, more than $300,000 and countless hours of hard work to turn the structure into a neighborhood envy worthy of the Angie’s List-sponsored award.
Wayne Olander of highly rated Indianapolis architecture firm Arteffects Architectural Interiors designed the restoration.
“We’re flabbergasted that small-time investors and rehabbers like us can win an award like this,” Smith says.