- When doing a renovation, you never know what you might find.
- It’s a standard flipper's cliche that developers "don't care about the details," but David Balglino and his team found a treasure in the walls.
- A little extra charm can be found in the strangest places.
When you take on a full gut rehab, especially in a historic renovation, you never know what you’ll find once you open it up. Over the years, we’ve seen everything imaginable that is every renovator’s worst nightmare including squirrel and bat infestations, rotting studs encased with mold and noncompliant plumbing and electrical systems that require full replacement.
Luckily, when David Baglino, developer and owner of Wasatch Engineering Contractors Inc. in Park City, Utah, gutted his latest historic property, he found a gift — old, faded Valentine’s Day cards that he suspects were hidden there by one of the property’s first owners.
Originally built in 1910, this vintage downtown Park City miner’s cabin has been taken down to the studs by the competent hands of Kevin Horn of Horn and Partners Architecture and Wasatch Engineering Contractors.
Impeccably restored to the epitome of modern luxury and only steps from the heart of the Sundance Film Festival, the home preserves the original one-of-a-kind architectural elements that connect Park City to the Old West’s gold rush past.
Completing this project in 11 months was no small feat. Baglino and his team gutted the entire interior and completely rebuilt and restored the walls including the existing double-lap wood exterior from the outside in.
Baglino also raised the house to accommodate nine-foot ceilings in the newly added finished basement.
Past the welcoming great room, you’ll find an exquisite floating staircase, a gourmet chef’s kitchen and a modern metal-clad addition in back that contrasts with the original wood siding and would make even the most discriminating modern interior designers from Los Angeles or Manhattan swoon.
Outside, there’s room for relaxation and entertaining guests on the deck and patio with expansive mountain and ski slope views. Walk out the back door onto Main Street, and the backyard is the bustling heart of downtown Park City steps from the town ski lifts, the Sundance Film Festival and some of the finest shopping and restaurants in any ski town in the U.S.
The home’s developer, Baglino, is no stranger to renovating historic properties and is currently working on five other Park City historic renovations with architect Kevin Horn.
It’s a standard flipper’s cliche that developers “don’t care about the details,” but Baglino and his team are the rare exceptions who pay attention to the finest details both on the interior finishes and the energy-efficiency of the exterior design.
The next custodian of this vintage home will be the beneficiary of their thoughtful craftsmanship and awareness of modern buyer’s sensibilities.
Oh, and about those Valentine’s Day cards he discovered in the walls during the renovation — they are now on display in glass frames on the walls of the home, and they go with the sale of the property to the new owners.
Although this home is move-in ready in our opinion, perhaps the new owners will make changes of their own and leave a time capsule for future owners to discover when they open up the walls.
Meggen Taylor is a co-founder of FindEverythingHistoric.com.
