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Historic Preservation board approves demolition of heavily damaged house at 402 Barnes Street
Summary
The Historic Preservation Advisory Board unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing demolition of a heavily damaged Folk Victorian house at 402 Barnes St. Owner Gregory Dawson said he salvaged historic details and plans to rebuild a similar house.
The Historic Preservation Advisory Board on June 5 unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing the demolition of a Folk Victorian house at 402 Barnes Street after staff and engineer reports described severe structural failure.
City preservation planner Reyna Allen told the board that the house is listed as a “high priority” in the local resources survey and that the structure was substantially damaged during an attempted foundation repair. Allen said the house “rotated off the jacks and fell roughly 3 feet,” twisting and warping the structural frame. Staff recommended allowing demolition because the wall-to-roof connections were compromised and attempts to reset the house onto its foundation were likely to cause further damage.
The recommendation left the board four options: approve demolition, approve with conditions, deny, or issue a 90-day delay (after which a certificate of appropriateness would be issued). The board voted to approve the demolition; the motion was seconded by Betty Pittkisick and passed unanimously. The transcript does not record a named mover for the final motion.
Owner Gregory Dawson, who spoke at the meeting, described discovering the damage and said his insurance declared the house a total loss. He said he removed and stored original interior elements, including doors, trim and two rooms of hardwood floors, with the intent to reuse those materials in a new, similar house. “I’m sick about this happening,” Dawson said. “That house belonged to Miss Beth. … I’m gonna rebuild something similar. I’ve taken every single door, every piece of trim, all in storage.”
Board members expressed regret at the loss of the historic resource and appreciation that the owner salvaged architectural details. Reyna Allen noted the full engineering report was included in the board packet and reiterated that staff believed demolition was the least-damaging, practicable outcome given the structural failure.
The approval allows the owner to pursue demolition consistent with the issued certificate of appropriateness. The board did not impose a delay or additional conditions, and the file will return if the owner later seeks approval for a replacement design or for reuse of salvaged elements.
