Prattville commission approves new front door at 243 South Court Street

PRATTVILLE, Ala. — The Prattville Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Dec. 12 to grant a certificate of appropriateness for a new front door at 243 South Court Street, saying the replacement addressed an immediate safety hazard.

The commission approved the door as submitted after staff explained that only the front door required full commission review; replacement of the building’s windows, roof and exterior paint will proceed through expedited administrative review. The items described for administrative review are in-kind or nonhistoric replacements that staff may approve without a full commission vote.

Applicant Darren Phillips, who identified himself as the owner of 243 South Court Street, told the commission the original door and threshold were rotted and “when you step through the floor, it's actually sinking in over an inch. It obstructed the egress.” He said the replacement was made quickly because of the condition and that he did not realize the commission review process should have happened before the work.

“We expedited replacement and, honestly, didn't know that I should've gone through here,” Phillips said.

Phillips said the planned window replacements will be wood, 12-over-12 sash like the building’s historic treatment, and estimated the work to replace the windows at roughly $50,000 to $60,000. He said the contractor follows a preservation-minded process used in the region.

A resident, Wade Newman of 960 Fireside Drive, spoke in support of the work and the owner’s approach to downtown preservation. “I moved back home to Prattville because I like my small town,” Newman said, adding he supported the change away from a 1970s-era aluminum-frame door.

A commissioner clarified that the expedited reviews for windows, roof and paint mean staff will handle those items under the city’s administrative review procedures; the commission’s formal vote applied only to the front door. The vote on the certificate of appropriateness was unanimous.

The commission also approved minutes from its Oct. 24, 2024 meeting earlier in the session, correcting a date typo in the draft minutes. Commissioners spent the final portion of the meeting discussing logistics: council-chambers renovations are expected to begin in January, and members were reminded that maintaining a property’s historic status can affect flood-zone development allowances under the National Flood Insurance Program.

The commission adjourned at 4:48 p.m.