Architecture Review Board recommends emergency partial demolition at 7 Aviles Street, directs salvage and archaeology protections

The City of Saint Augustine Architecture Review Board on March 27 recommended an emergency partial demolition of structurally unsafe front walls at 7 Aviles Street and attached conditions to protect historic materials and archaeological resources.

Richard Shawland, the city building official, told the board he had received a structural report and photos showing brick veneer with no tiebacks and walls beginning to buckle. "The bricks don't have tiebacks onto the wall, so they're not being held by that structure whatsoever," Shawland said, and recommended an emergency demolition permit for public safety.

Jude Kossage, the structural engineer retained by the owner's architect, said the mortar had essentially "completely turned to sand" inside the wall and that north-facing cracking suggested the risk of a two-story brick collapse, creating a life-safety hazard. "I could literally grab the brick from the backside of the wall and pull it out," Kossage said, describing mortar failure and a lack of structural integrity.

Contractor Chad Swaniger (KRB Construction) described extensive interior deterioration discovered when opening the building—termite-ravaged studs, missing joists cut for plumbing and ad-hoc repairs—and outlined an emergency shoring and dismantling plan that uses whalers, through-bolts and sheeting so the brick can be removed by hand, bagged and cleaned for possible reuse. He told the board the team hopes to reach bare ground "within 30 days," depending on permitting and access.

The board and staff clarified scope: the emergency work targets the front three brick walls and part of an upper east wall (described during the meeting as "three and a half" walls). Interior coquina (jail) walls and a garage area would remain for now; any full demolition or reconstruction beyond the emergency partial work must return as a formal HARB application, staff said.

The board attached a set of conditions to its recommendation. They included: requiring submission of the applicant's 3D laser scans and as-built documentation to city staff before demolition; producing a salvage list and good-faith effort to preserve and reuse key materials (noted items included the front doors, specialty glass, custom tiles and brick suitable for the façade); and adhering to the city archaeologist's conditions. City staff read the archaeologist's requirements into the record: the site is in Archaeological Zone 1B (master site file site ASJ 05675), no ground disturbance deeper than 3 inches is permitted under the demolition permit, footers and foundations must remain intact at least 6 inches above grade, and matting is recommended for heavy equipment. A full archaeological review will be required for any new construction.

Several public speakers supported the owner's efforts to salvage and faithfully reconstruct the façade. Melinda Rakanze and Nancy Pelasier thanked the owner and contractor for attempts to preserve the historic fabric and urged the board to require reuse where feasible. Dr. Lehi Keys reminded the board that the city has a minimum maintenance ordinance (adopted 2018) and a demolition-by-neglect ordinance and urged ongoing inventory and enforcement to prevent similar losses.

Board members emphasized keeping the streetscape character. The board also discussed flood-zone implications: staff noted portions of the property touch the base flood elevation (BFE 7 feet), which would require rebuilt residential floors to be at least 1 foot above BFE (minimum finished floor elevation 8 feet) unless a commercial dry-floodproofing approach is used; the precise elevation determination will require a survey.

A committee member moved to recommend the emergency partial demolition of the identified walls (north, west, south and the upper portion of the east wall), with conditions requiring 3D documentation to be archived with staff, a salvage plan and compliance with archaeological protections; another committee member seconded the recommendation. The secretary recorded affirmative votes from the attendance list provided by staff; the action was recorded as the board's recommendation rather than a binding order. Staff noted that a separate, formal HARB application is required for any future full demolition or reconstruction, and the earliest available HARB date for such an application is May 21.

The board's recommendation directs city staff and the applicant to document the structure, implement the contractor's emergency shoring plan, preserve salvageable historic fabric in good faith, and allow the city archaeologist to monitor ground-level disturbance. The meeting closed with no further items on the agenda.