Owner to make repairs and follow staff conditions after unapproved work at Irvington house; deadline set for Sept. 15

The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission approved a certificate of authorization Thursday directing an Irvington homeowner to complete corrective work after performing alterations without prior approval.

Darryl Gunyan, the property owner and applicant for case 2024 COA 356 at 5814 Beechwood Avenue, told the commission he met with IHPC staff and proposed solutions including a brick wainscoting made from bricks salvaged from the garage or a painted wood-panel base for a modified sun porch. "I assure you that if this is the answer, I can make it look like it grew there," Gunyan said, describing his effort to match brick from the existing garage.

Gunyan said he has applied to demolish the existing garage and is docketed for an August meeting on that item; he also said he could not harvest brick until the garage is removed but has researched matching brick if needed. He told the commission he would replace the first-floor front windows with "new aluminum cladded wood simulated divided like casements" and would replace rough-sawn fiber-cement siding on visible facades, though he asked that a rear dormer with limited visibility be allowed to remain as-is to save time and cost.

Shelby Long, the commission's senior architectural reviewer, said staff and the owner had discussed three focus areas: the addition (former greenhouse), the front first-floor windows, and the rough-sawn siding. Staff recommended either the brick water-table approach (using salvage bricks as veneer) or a wood panel base and noted the owner agreed to replace the vinyl double-hung windows with the new simulated-divided casements. Long also said staff believed maintaining rough-sawn siding anywhere on the house "is really inappropriate," but deferred to the commission on whether the rear dormer could remain unchanged because it has limited visibility.

Meg Bush presented staff's formal recommendation to "approve a certificate of authorization" for the work completed without approval and for the proposed repairs, subject to stipulations and two notes in the staff report. The recommendation included a mandatory completion date: all required correction work to the addition, the front windows and the siding must be completed no later than Sept. 15, 2025. "Failure to comply will result in the enforcement case submitted to the city prosecutor," Bush said.

The owner explained a construction approach whereby harvested full-size bricks would be cut and used as a veneer over a poured footer; he said the resulting veneer would sit slightly proud of the existing wall but predicted a reveal of less than an inch. The commission voted to approve staff's recommendation by voice vote.

The approval authorizes the corrective plan under a certificate of authorization; the owner must notify IHPC staff for an inspection when the work is complete. If the work is not completed by Sept. 15, the staff report states the enforcement case will be submitted to the city prosecutor.