Archinect
anchor

Historic property or not?

I am jump starting on a project that is  going to be a new development (5 town homes with 14 units) on an property with an existing abandon old house build in 1929. The house exist in the Historic Property Inventory (HPI) but is not in Historic Register. The owner want the house to be demolished so the property is ready for the new development, but the Historic Preservation Department want us to consider alternatives:

22.28.60 Demolition – Consideration of alternatives

A.  Anyone applying for a demolition permit for a property on the historic register or within a district on the historic register, or for a property on the historic inventory but not on the historic register, shall prepare a report analyzing the following alternatives (listed in descending order of preference) as to their feasibility:

1.   Redesigning the project to avoid any impact to the structure or its setting;
2.   Incorporating the structure into the overall design of the project;
3.   Converting the structure into another use (adaptive reuse);
4.   Relocating the structure on the property;
5.   Relocating the structure to another property;
6.   Salvaging from the structure historically significant architectural features and building materials;
7.   Documenting the structure as a whole and its individual architectural features in photographs, drawings, and/or text. Such documentation shall be submitted to, and archived by, the city.

The report shall consist of thorough, deliberative analyses of each of the alternatives, explaining why each alternative is or is not feasible.

I did a research on the house, so far no indication for historic element, I have been requested a detail report on the property history also.

Does any of you have been in the same situation? What should I do?

 
May 23, 13 4:27 pm
No one here can tell you what to do, only your local permitting authorities can.

I would suggest that proposing to renovate this building into units that are similar to the others in your scheme but keeping the exterior appearance essentially the same is the best option. It will save you hours upon hours of historic assessment reports, public hearings, and time spent trying to argue to the permit officials why you should be allowed to tear it down.
May 23, 13 5:14 pm  · 
 · 
JayCon

check with the hysterical society... I mean historical society.  That will also help you select who you will hire as a contradictor... I mean contractor,

May 23, 13 5:33 pm  · 
 · 
Thanks !
May 23, 13 5:33 pm  · 
 · 

Here they just demolish the building and let the lawyers sort it out after, usually with a $100 fine (since the community was only settled in 1656 we don't have a historic district).

Jewish lightning is another alternative (just like Italian lightning but reserved for luxury spec house developers who can't unload their holdings).

May 23, 13 6:54 pm  · 
 · 

MIles, stop it! ;-)

That was my first thought as a solution too - heaven knows it happens frequently - but it's a terrible solution!!

May 23, 13 8:47 pm  · 
 · 
boy in a well

jewish lightning, huh?

real nice.

May 24, 13 12:47 am  · 
 · 

Block this user


Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?

Archinect


This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.

  • ×Search in: