In this issue:
-Varsity house update
-900 New Hampshire
-Register Nomination Project
-Old House Warming at the Baird’s home
Varsity House update
After a year and a half of difficult discussions between the developer, LPA and the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission (HRC), Fritzel Construction Company surprised the city by choosing to relocate the Varsity House at 1043 Indiana by completely dismantling it. The historic Dutch Colonial structure, built in 1908, was in the way of a massive apartment project and had originally been slated for demolition. Fritzel then proposed moving the house to the north end of the project, which LPA could not accept. Hours before a pivotal hearing at City Commission, Commissioner Mike Amyx brokered a compromise to keep the house on the project’s south end by moving it closer to the corner. It was important historically that the House retain its corner location.
While the method of relocation wasn’t spelled out in the agreement, moving the structure in one piece was assumed. An out-of-state contractor working for Fritzel convinced him after the agreement was reached, that the best way to proceed was to completely dismantle Varsity House.
Dismantling is accepted by the U.S. Parks Service as a relocation method, but it’s usually done in cases of log or masonry structures that can’t be easily moved in one piece. Careful removal and cataloging of each building component is necessary to ensure that the structure will be put back together as faithfully as possible. This form of “moving” a building is rarely done, and if done correctly, is prohibitively expensive.
The applicant did work diligently with staff and the HRC to minimize the impact of the large apartment house project on the Oread National Historic District. While not acceptable to many preservationists, the final design of the infill portion is light years ahead of the original proposal. But for the Varsity House, now sitting in pieces in a warehouse, it seems likely that it will come back this spring more replicated than authentic. Will it still be the Varsity House, or a lesser version of itself, a Junior Varsity House, unable to reflect to occupants and visitors the proud moments of its past?
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900 New Hampshire
The same night the Fritzel group met with the HRC for the last time about the Varsity House, another group led by Doug Compton and Treanor Architects unveiled a mammoth 6 story design for the vacant lot at 9th and New Hampshire. They told the HRC they were unwilling to make any substantive changes, and essentially asked for a denial from HRC so that they could proceed to the City Commission on appeal. The multi-use proposal, included an extended-stay hotel, apartments, retail, upscale restaurant and a rooftop party pool. It would be built lot line to lot line, except for a drive-through next to the concrete wall on the north side of the Lawrence Arts Center. The east side or back of the building was to be 60 feet tall (same height as Weavers) and built right up to the alley. The 17 foot wide alley is all that would separate this large structure from homes in the residential North Rhode Island National Historic District.
With HRC’s denial in hand, the developers did agree just prior to the City Commission hearing to work with neighbors and the HRC. To date LPA has provided strong testimony at two HRC hearings and one City Commission, and is working with neighborhood leaders as well as Rhode Island residents in an attempt to alter the proposal. So far, the drive-through next to the Arts Center and the use of the alley to channel development traffic has been scuttled, and the bikini-and-heels pool is tucked inside, away from the collective gaze of the kids at the Arts Center. New building renditions headed for HRC on February 16 are expected to be 5 stories on New Hampshire and 3 stories on the alley.
What would downtown neighborhoods be like without the collective hard work of neighborhood organizations, professional planning staff, HRC and LPA regarding in-your-face development designs that meet the letter of the city’s zoning laws about height and mass, but not the spirit of neighborhood/commercial cooperation?
UPDATE: 9th and N.H. project rejected by the Historic Resources Commission. Now it will likely go to City Commission. (LJW article)
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Registration Nomination Project
Aided by a $9,000 grant from the Douglas County National and Cultural Heritage Grant program, LPA has begun a project to conduct historical research and prepare nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for three historic Douglas County properties. LPA is also seeking a consultant to design an educational program with materials that can help explain the importance and benefits of historic register listings.
After seeking partners throughout the county last summer, LPA chose three from requests submitted. These include the 1892 landmark commercial building at 707 Main in downtown Eudora, the B’nai Israel Cemetery, established in 1859 by German Jews on the outskirts of Eudora, and the Robinson Oakridge Farm Barn, owned by the University of Kansas and the only significant structure remaining from Governor Charles Robinson’s farmstead north of Lawrence.
LPA purposely sought properties outside the city of Lawrence, in keeping with the county commissioners’ desire to protect cultural resources countywide. Eudora, which will also benefit from a cultural resources survey that the county is undertaking currently has just one property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
LPA is providing a $500 match to the $500 from each of the three property owners to help fund the project. LPA will act as a project manager and will hire consultants to research and document the history of the three properties, working with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to confirm each property’s eligibility for listing, and if confirmed, complete a written nomination to the register.
Two other county groups who have in the past received support from LPA were also awarded County grants. Black Jack Battlefield Trust won the major grant of $163,000 to rehabilitate the Robert Hall Pearson 1890 farmhouse that sits on the battlefield property. And Vinland Preservation LLC, which has been working to rehabilitate the Vinland Presbyterian Church for almost a decade, received $30,000 to help with the important step of restoring the steeple and the front façade of the building.
These projects are all partially supported by funds from the Douglas County Natural and Cultural Heritage Grant Program.
UPDATE: We just learned that the issue of whether to continue to fund the Douglas County Heritage Grant program and/or de-fund the current year will come up at the County Commissioners meeting next Wednesday (Feb 22) at 6:30. Supporters of the program who can attend and make brief comments on the value of the program are needed. Our current projects mentioned above will be funded.
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Old House Warming at the Baird’s home AND Trettle home
625 Walnut/618 Walnut
Sunday, April 15th, 2-4pm
Historic and Modern meet. The next Old House Warming will be a double tour as the LPA and the Lawrence Modern group collaborate!
625 Walnut (1870 victorian owned by David Baird) and 618 Walnut (2009 modern house owned by architect Scott Trettle).
We will start at 625 Walnut and then move everyone to 618 around 3ish.
Light snacks and refreshments waiting at 618. Enjoy a presentation and tour of two distinct homes across the street from each other.
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Lawrence Preservation is published quarterly by the Lawrence Preservation Alliance. Our mission is to preserve historically significant buildings and natural environments, and to educate the community about the benefits of historic preservation. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions.
