AKAY Consulting was founded in 2001 by architectural historian, Alexa McDowell. McDowell, an Iowa native and Minneapolis transplant, grew up with an affinity for history and the products of history. Being raised by antique collectors, she was surrounded by beautiful and charming pieces of history which fostered her love for historic architecture.
McDowell graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in Art and Design and a graduate degree in Preservation Studies. Her insatiable thirst for knowledge led to additional post-graduate work in American History and, as a result, McDowell satisfies the requirements of the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in both History and Architectural History.
Over the course of its 20-year history, AKAY Consulting has been involved in many types of cultural resource projects focusing on the identification and evaluation of historical properties. That work includes dozens of National Register of Historic Places nominations; some 25 historic tax credit applications; the National Historic Landmark Nomination of, the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa; countless intensive level surveys of properties ranging from municipal resources like dams and power plants to farmsteads to hockey arenas; property studies/recordation projects for a number of Iowa and Minnesota resources slated for demolition; nearly 200 reconnaissance level surveys across Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and multiple Planning for Preservation projects.
With this wide variety of work, McDowell has been part of project teams recognized for achievements in the field of historic preservation:
• Preservation Iowa’s “Preservation at Its Best – Best Residential” for the historic rehabilitation of Plymouth Place in Des Moines, Iowa – 2015
• Preservation Iowa’s “Preservation at Its Best – Adaptive Re-Use” for the historic rehabilitation of Monroe Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for re-use as multiple-family housing, now known as Monroe Lofts – 2019
• Ken Kringle Award from the City of Dubuque Historic Preservation Commission for the historic rehabilitation of Marquette Hall in Dubuque, Iowa for adaptive re-use as senior housing now, known as Marquette Lofts – 2020
• Main Street Iowa Award for Best Residential Historic Rehabilitation of the First National Bank Building in Davenport, Iowa for adaptive re-use, now known as The Brenton – 2020