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Director's Report September 12, 2005 A. Action Items 1. Alpha Cotton Mill Village.
Staff has concluded that there is no immediate prospect of securing the preservation of the Alpha Mill Village Houses. The City has received a Hope 6 Grant which calls for substantial residential development on the site. The State Historic Preservation Office concluded that the houses are not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Staff approached Crosland about the concept of moving some of the houses to the nearby Alpha Mill site. Crosland was open to the idea but did not want to make a commitment until it receives final word on Federal Investment Tax Credits for the Alpha Mill project. The Housing Authority says the houses need to be demolished immediately because of vagrants. Staff believes that ultimately there will be no appropriate preservation solution found. Consequently, Staff recommends that the Commission pass a motion authorizing the submission of a letter to the Housing Authority saying that the Commission has been unable to develop a preservation strategy for the houses within the time frame presented by the City. B. Information Items. 1. Public hearings on prospective historic landmarks will be held in October and November. a. Huntersville Town Board (October 3). Joint public hearing to consider historic landmark designation of the Torrence Lytle School (Former).
b. Charlotte City Council (November -- will give specific date when available). Joint public hearing to consider historic landmark designation of the McQuay House and the change of boundaries to the Neel House property (if approved).
c. Matthews Town Board (November -- will give specific date when available). Joint public hearing to consider historic landmark designation of the Rowland Clay House, Matthews Post Office, McLaughlin-Bost House, and the Lemmond House (if approved).
2. The owners of the former Pure Oil Service Station at 4733 Monroe have expressed interest in having the building processed for Historic Landmark designation. Staff is enthusiastic about this prospect and will recommend to the Survey Committee that the building be placed on the Study List of Prospective Historic Landmarks and that the Commission fund the Survey and Research Report.
3. The issue of Grace A.M.E. Zion Church continues to be active. Four individuals appeared before the County Commission at its last meeting to stress the historic importance of the building and to question the veracity of the appraisal. Staff anticipates there will be further discussions concerning this issue.
4. Preservation North Carolina will be holding its annual meeting October 26-29 in Gastonia and Shelby, N.C. Dr. Mattson will be on the program. This would be an excellent way for the Commission to meet its annual education requirements for the Certified Local Government program. I will be attending at least one day. Click here for information about the program. 5. The W. T. Alexander Plantation has been sold. The new buyer intends to rebuild a replica barn and use it as a restaurant. He will be living in the plantation house.
6. Two properties have come to the Staff's attention within the last month. The owners of the W. B. Newell House sent a letter requesting that historic landmark designation be removed. The reason is their belief that designation might impede the sale of the property. I suggested that the owner withdraw the letter so the Commission might have the opportunity to determine whether it wanted to purchase the property. The owner agreed to withdraw the letter. The Town of Davidson continues to work with the prospective buyers of the Bell Stamey House to determine how the house might be preserved. One scenario is to have the house and land donated to the Historic Landmarks Commission.
7. Negotiations continue with prospective buyers of the Grand Theater and a portion of the Charlotte Cotton Mills. 8. The Commission continues to market the Rozzell House property on Old Rozzells Ferry Road.
9. Restoration work continues at the Grier-Rea House.
10. Staff visited the Sidney and Ethel Grier House within the last month and has considered what might be done to market the property more effectively. Some consideration has also been given to selling a portion of the land to Portrait Homes.
11. The lessees of the Oakley House in Pineville have actively begun restoration of the house.
12. Staff is working closely with the Town of Pineville to consider how best to implement a preservation plan for the Town. A meeting with property owners is scheduled for early October. Respectfully submitted
Dan L. Morrill |
