mcfarland (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mcfarland) wrote,@ 2006-01-06 19:30:00 |
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AIUTO!!!
The 97-year-old Werner-Gilchrist house, subject of a demolition request, might instead earn a longer life as a designated city landmark. At the very least, a landmark designation buys the property a little more time, said Mayor Martin Chavez, whose office made the application.
Developers interested in buying the property at Cornell and Silver SE made an offer contingent on the owners tearing down the house. The city decided against issuing a demolition permit and Chavez applied to designate the house a landmark, "the best way to ensure (that it) will remain standing long enough to be rehabilitated and reoccupied," according to a city news release.
The house was built in 1908 at what was then the city's eastern border, a trail ride up from Downtown and fields away from the University of New Mexico, at the time little more than one building.
It was built with adobe bearing walls, typical of the pre-railroad era, and with a post-railroad era lumberframed hipped roof and milled lumber doors, windows and trim.
Inside, a 12-foot-wide Territorialstyle entry hall runs the length of the house. The entire second floor is one room, with dormers on each side.
Now the house appears every moment of its age, lost in a tangle of trees and vines, but its "condition is better than might be expected," according to the city.
The house is on state and national registers of cultural properties and historic places, but that doesn't protect a property from demolition.
Chavez said he remembers the "haunted" looking house from his college days.
"I wanted to buy some time, to assess whether it's truly a landmark or historic," he said.
Owners Dan Kelley and Reeves McGuire bought it as an investment but discovered the high costs of restoring a home built on a stacked stone foundation and in need of major repairs.
McGuire said this week that he doesn't know whether or not the landmark designation would devalue the property. The only offer the partners have had was for the property without the house.
"It can come down to a whole philosophical issue about how a community feels about infill projects and growth and going forward, as opposed to saving something that some may feel has historical value or significance," McGuire said. "Frankly, I can see both sides of that issue."
The designation process includes an economic impact study and a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 11, he said, so it's not a certainty.
Developer Juno Raby has said it would cost about $500,000 to restore the house. He wouldn't say what was planned for the property.
The 97-year-old Werner-Gilchrist house, subject of a demolition request, might instead earn a longer life as a designated city landmark. At the very least, a landmark designation buys the property a little more time, said Mayor Martin Chavez, whose office made the application.
Developers interested in buying the property at Cornell and Silver SE made an offer contingent on the owners tearing down the house. The city decided against issuing a demolition permit and Chavez applied to designate the house a landmark, "the best way to ensure (that it) will remain standing long enough to be rehabilitated and reoccupied," according to a city news release.
The house was built in 1908 at what was then the city's eastern border, a trail ride up from Downtown and fields away from the University of New Mexico, at the time little more than one building.
It was built with adobe bearing walls, typical of the pre-railroad era, and with a post-railroad era lumberframed hipped roof and milled lumber doors, windows and trim.
Inside, a 12-foot-wide Territorialstyle entry hall runs the length of the house. The entire second floor is one room, with dormers on each side.
Now the house appears every moment of its age, lost in a tangle of trees and vines, but its "condition is better than might be expected," according to the city.
The house is on state and national registers of cultural properties and historic places, but that doesn't protect a property from demolition.
Chavez said he remembers the "haunted" looking house from his college days.
"I wanted to buy some time, to assess whether it's truly a landmark or historic," he said.
Owners Dan Kelley and Reeves McGuire bought it as an investment but discovered the high costs of restoring a home built on a stacked stone foundation and in need of major repairs.
McGuire said this week that he doesn't know whether or not the landmark designation would devalue the property. The only offer the partners have had was for the property without the house.
"It can come down to a whole philosophical issue about how a community feels about infill projects and growth and going forward, as opposed to saving something that some may feel has historical value or significance," McGuire said. "Frankly, I can see both sides of that issue."
The designation process includes an economic impact study and a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 11, he said, so it's not a certainty.
Developer Juno Raby has said it would cost about $500,000 to restore the house. He wouldn't say what was planned for the property.
