Staff recommends postponement of 12-A-23-HZ for one month, to the January 18, 2024 meeting, recognizing the continual deterioration of the highly significant building, and allowing the City and Planning staff the opportunity to collaborate on a mitigation plan involving architectural salvage and detailed documentation, and the plan to be submitted to the HZC for approval.
Demolition of a contributing structure
Description from National Register nomination: Bungalow. One-and-one-half-story frame with brick veneer of three different types: smooth red brick on upper walls, grooved brick of varying colors on water table, and grooved red brick on foundation. Cross-gable roof with asphalt shingle covering. Double-hung one-over-one windows. Stained glass fanlight over triple one-over-one windows in front façade, with Queen Anne transoms. Brick foundation.
1. 2100 Washington Avenue is a contributing resource to the Edgewood-Park City National Register Historic District and local historic overlay.
2. COAs applied for include a roof replacement and mortar repointing application in November 2008 (application made by the church) and roof replacement and repointing application in March 2016 (application made by the previous property owner). It is unclear if those scopes of work were completed in 2008 or 2016. The property has been without active utility service since May 2010. The most recent church owner sold the property in July 2015. The property remained vacant and unutilized. The City of Knoxville acquired the property via the Demolition by Neglect process in April 2022.
3. The property has a long history of codes enforcement actions via the Public Officer and Better Building Board. The City of Knoxville stabilized the property over the last year with a large tarp, fencing security, asbestos mediation, and interior stabilization. The City of Knoxville listed the property in the Homemakers Program in June 2022.
4. The first page of the City's application details the four unsuccessful applications for the City Homemaker program. The City has provided extensive documentation of the building's interior and exterior condition, including a structural engineer report prepared for Knox Heritage.
The City has shown the property on 19 dates to at least 75 people. Rehabilitation costs for the three Homemakers Program applications have been quoted at between $858,500 and $1,517,000.
5. The building is extremely deteriorated, including the roof cladding and framing (currently open to the elements but covered with a tarp), the exterior brick cladding, the wood framing (from roof leaks and termite damage), the floor framing and subfloors adjacent to exterior walls, and the foundation. According to contractor quotes and the structural engineer assessment, "the walls are most likely founded on the soil rather than a concrete foundation," and "part of the side all of the front building corner has pushed in and partially collapsed and would need to be rebuilt." Work on the building would ultimately result in the building's partial or complete reconstruction instead of rehabilitation.
6. In the opinion of staff, the application submitted clearly depicts the "exploration of all other alternatives" to demolition by the City of Knoxville. Applications for the Homemakers Program have explored the possibility of converting the structure to another use and rehabilitating the structure to a single-family house or a duplex. Relocation of the structure to another property would not be possible due to the deteriorated condition of the building's foundation, framing, and exterior cladding materials. The building continues to deteriorate and winter weather conditions, including precipitation and the freeze-thaw cycle, will hasten the building's collapse.
7. In the opinion of staff, the building retains architectural integrity. Integrity is defined as comprised of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The only components of integrity which may be lacking are association ("the direct link between an important historic event, place, or person and a historic property"), as the building has been neglected and vacant for many decades and the connection with any historic congregation has been severed.
8. Should the HZC approve demolition, a specific plan for mitigation should be developed in advance. The City should work with the neighborhood, Planning staff, and Knox Heritage to create a specific plan for documentation and salvage of character-defining features, including the stained glass windows, pews, interior wood pocket door, and any original brick masonry elements. The plan should be reviewed by the HZC. Documentation and salvage should be completed as soon as possible, as the building's condition continues to worsen.
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