There are plenty of historic renovations going on in Richmond, and there are plenty with modern HVAC. Historic preservation requirements typically are concerned with the exterior appearance and materials; thus, eliminating the window units would be a plus.
I'm going to see the place anyways, and will ask what's up with the window units. Not only do window units block light, are noisy, moldy, and look ugly, they are a whole lot less efficient than modern HVAC systems.
...thread drift...