Historic Zoning Commission

N/A: Level IV

4-G-08-HZ

Applicant Request

Level IV. Demolition or relocation of contributing structure

Demolish designated structure.

Site Info

One story Craftsman styled home on raised brick basement, wood weatherboard siding, end gable roof, south facing one bay entrance under gabled porch, one over one double hung wood windows.

Farmer's Mutual (Mr. Kehne's firm) purchased 1164 Armstrong in March 2005. The building was in poor condition then, and its condition has not improved since there has been no maintenance since 2005.

Some time after it purchased the property, Farmer's Mutual indicated a desire to demolish the building in order to accommodate a retention basin in connection with proposed construction at the corner of Broadway and Wells (not included in an H-1 overlay). Mr. Kehne offered the building for removal to another lot in the Old North area; the costs of moving it could not be recouped in the sales price, and no appropriate location was found for the building. Old North then worked with Mr. Kehne to allow provide for landscaping and other buffering, both on the H-1 lot and on the adjacent undesignated parcel. The initial design proposed by Farmer's Mutual was a brick office building with limited front yard parking and heavy landscaping, which could have been acceptable to Old North. In the current proposal, the undesignated parcel appears to contain more front yard parking and diminished landscaping. However, that site plan and the design of the building are not the subject of this review, since that property is undesignated.

Under the currently submitted proposal, the lot at 1164 Armstrong, which is designated, will be used for 7 parking spaces and a dumpster. The south and west sides of the dumpster will be screened with "Otto Luyken" Laurels, while the parking area to the west will be ringed with alternating Sky Pencil Hollies and Dwarf Boxwoods. Access to the parking will be screened on the west with Viburnum and Thornless Honeylocust. On the north and west sides of the detention pond will be Foster Hollies on an 11' spacing. The bottom of the detention pond will be sodded. Sweetbay magnolias will be the three easternmost trees at the eastern south side of the detention pond. Along Broadway will be two Cloud Nine Dogwoods. The corner of Broadway and Wells will be planted with two Kousa Dogwoods and Otto Luyken Laurel. Three additional trees on the Wells side of the parcel will be planted with Washington Hawthorns. The trees that are called out are generally 15-20 feet tall, while most of the shrubs are 8-10' tall, all at maturity. They will adequately buffer the residential properties to the west, although granting demolition of the building at 1164 Armstrong will not guarantee that the applicant's new building will be constructed or the landscaping installed.