Archive for Sunday, April 20, 2008
Groups rally to restore 120-year-old house
Rebecca Buford, left, executive director of Tenants To Homeowners, and Dennis Brown, president of Lawrence Preservation Alliance, walk around a home at 1120 R.I. on Thursday as Hayley Travis, resources development specialist with Tenants to Homeowners, inspects rotten siding. Restoration of the historic home is a collaborative project between Tenants to Homeowners and the Lawrence Preservation Alliance.
April 20, 2008
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Providing homes for those in need
Tenants to Homeowners Inc. is a nonprofit community housing development organization that helps tenants become homeowners through a variety of construction and financing programs.
It builds homes and repairs old ones through the city of Lawrence's first-time, low-income or "work force" home buyer program. It also acquires property for its Community Land Trust Program for houses.
In some cases, workers making under $40,000 can qualify for the program.
It's being called an east Lawrence success story.
A 120-year-old house will be saved from a bulldozer and the vacant ground around it won't become a parking lot, thanks to years of talks involving several entities.
"The neighborhood was really adamant that demolition by neglect is something we have a problem with," said Janet Good, a member of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association board of directors and its former president.
A year ago, the Douglas County Commission approved an agreement with Tenants to Homeowners Inc. to lease property the county owns in the 1100 block of Rhode Island Street.
Included is the dilapidated bungalow built in 1888 at 1120 R.I. The organization, with the help of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, conducted a study during the past year to determine that the house can be rehabilitated and that money can be obtained for the project.
"What I'm pleased about is that our two groups, instead of looking at it from the curb and saying, 'We've got to tear this place down,' we did our research to come up with a plan," said Dennis Brown, the alliance's president.
Retaining character
In addition, Tenants to Homeowners has long-term plans to build two duplexes and a single-family residence on the block. The duplexes will be L-shaped with front and back residences, instead of the typical side-by-side duplexes, said Rebecca Buford, Tenants to Homeowners executive director. They are not expected to be completed until 2010.
"From the street, they will look like row houses," she said. "We have plans to develop housing here that will fit the character of the neighborhood."
Work on rehabilitating the house will begin this summer and continue the remainder of the year, Brown said. The addition at the back of the house, built in the 1920s, is in the worst shape and will be taken down. The frame of the house will be lifted and moved to the side while the foundation is rebuilt and the basement is expanded.
The project will cost about $140,000. The alliance gets its funding from dues from its 200 members and a variety of other sources, including grants and donations.
The organization entered a no-rent lease with the county for the property that is good for nearly 100 years, expiring on Dec. 31, 2105. The county, however, has the option after 30 years to terminate the lease early if it decides it needs the property. The termination option will then be available every 10 years. The county would purchase buildings if the lease is terminated. The organization is responsible for taxes and insurance.
Working together
Buford and Brown credit the neighborhood association and Good with bringing the various entities together. The organization doesn't generally get into historical restoration projects. The house is in the North Rhode Island National Historic District and retains enough of its original characteristics that federal rules govern how it can be repaired. But historical restoration is the alliance's specialty, and it selected Nineteenth Century Restorations LLC as the project contractor.
"It's a great example of how several organizations can come together," Buford said.
The county once used the house for storage. County leaders have been in a quandary for years about what to do with the house and the property. They were reluctant to spend money fixing the house if it was to be torn down for a parking lot, which was once considered, County Administrator Craig Weinaug said.
Because of the neighborhood's historic designation, it would be difficult to get the necessary approval for a parking lot, he said.
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20 April 2008
at 5:41 a.m.
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458casul (Anonymous) says…
no worry this will sit on sandy days desk and lynn zolers desk for three months and dont call them there never there and they get paid to do nothing and dont complain to scotty the director you will get a denial on anything you want to do,,,
20 April 2008
at 6:02 a.m.
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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…
$140,000 USD to rehabilitate a “bungalow”.Boy, is this one going to play havoc with surrounding property values and hence property taxes.Never, ever buy a property in an “historic” district unless you have the money to merely be a benefactor.”Grants”= tax dollars.From what I can see in the photo, this place should have been knocked down years ago.Talk about a waste of energy!Wonder what the “carbon footprint” will be on this little boondoggle?
20 April 2008
at 8:52 a.m.
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logrithmic (Anonymous) says…
Restore don't destroy… Thank you neighbors.Ignore the pathetic rightwing hate comments that love sitting on their bulldozers and crushing homes and trees.
20 April 2008
at 9:39 a.m.
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overthemoon (Anonymous) says…
The restrictions in historic districts are cumbersome only if you want to do something stupid.
20 April 2008
at 2:13 p.m.
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Made_in_China (Paul R. Getto) says…
History is good; ask the Europeans. We should preserve all we can.
20 April 2008
at 2:13 p.m.
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trollkiller (Anonymous) says…
Dear ljworld,how about deleting any poster that repeatedly put links to websites using a fake link name. Specifically the poster name “cool” who continually does this. Perhaps cool and marion are the same poster.
20 April 2008
at 2:26 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
Made_in_China (Paul R. Getto) says: History is good; ask the Europeans. We should preserve all we can.___________I agree. Most of the world doesn't discard leg hair, they preserve it. Only the US, after the Gillette shaver in WWII, did women harness themselves to this time-consuming, water wasting, self-mutilation. Sure, other than the pain of nicks, it's great for a small portion of the day, but then the stubble grows and neither men nor women like to have that sticking into the length of half of their bodies! Bad sleep, infected hairs, goosebump beheadings..then we go jump into an ocean of salt!How stupid can we women be? We got rid of corsets, then took up shaving our legs all the time?Save the leg hair!Discard the bra.Ban high heels along with anorexia!<=D
20 April 2008
at 2:38 p.m.
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sdinges (Anonymous) says…
I think it's great that they're doing this. As for arguments against:1) This will only raise surrounding property values - since right now the neighbors are living next to a dilapidated, worthless eyesore. Great for the neighborhood. Marion, do you really think homeowners in this neighborhood prefer the eyesore to having their houses grow in worth? Are you confused about equity? Property taxes don't eat up the entire value of the potential appreciation. Hey, I hate taxes too, but this is basic math.2) Second - these groups don't own the house. They are leasing it, and investing money in it. The county still owns it. Theoretically, when it is sold, the county will also make money on it. Yay county!3) No one is dictating what you can do with your property. They came and said “Hey county, please don't make a parking lot, we will spend money to fix this house.” If I owned a dilapidated house, and people wanted to pay me to fix it up, I'd take that deal. The county had no idea what to do with the property, so it accepted the first reasonable proposition. The county wasn't emotionally invested in the parking lot. The group isn't forcing anyone to do anything.Some ljworld posters are such negative Nellies. It must be hard work to see the negative in everything you encounter.
20 April 2008
at 3:40 p.m.
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Ragingbear (Anonymous) says…
Just rent the place to Jason Rose. Problem solved.
20 April 2008
at 4:11 p.m.
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bearded_gnome (Anonymous) says…
MD:Save the leg hair!Discard the bra.Ban high heels along with anorexia!–well, it depends MD, if you're working on this structure, maybe the heels not appropriate, but bet you'd welcome having a bra. interesting hairpin turn applied to this topic MD.
20 April 2008
at 4:57 p.m.
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LogicMan (Anonymous) says…
From only that photo, the back side of the house (an addition?) looks too far gone — rot/mold/etc.I suggest that anyone thinking about taking on an old house that is in disrepair should watch Tom Hank's movie “The Money Pit” first.
20 April 2008
at 5:05 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
I love that movie!!!Also, “Mr Blandings Build His Dream House”. Coincidentally, it was on again last night. It's a 4 star movie I see. Hoot!
20 April 2008
at 5:18 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
Were there any photos of the demolition?If so I missed it.
20 April 2008
at 7:28 p.m.
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verity (Anonymous) says…
That's not a photo of demolition–that's the shape the house is in. The front looks better, they're showing the very worst part of the house. Don't know why they're showing that, since, as I understand the article, that part will be torn down. The house has been a fire trap for years, no one living in it since 1996, which puts the whole neighborhood at risk, transients have lived in the porch and in the shed behind it. Something needed to be done long ago.
20 April 2008
at 8:59 p.m.
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srj (Anonymous) says…
Why make “neighborhood's historic” anyway? I understand houses, but neighborhood's. And every time I accidently drive on a brick paved street I curse the off-spring of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance.
20 April 2008
at 11:38 p.m.
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bearded_gnome (Anonymous) says…
hawk,I must've missed it, did the commish vote to put the drunken druggy shelter out there at east 13th and oregon? knew it was proposed! whoa! that's serious. ***nice work JG LPA and tenants to homeowners. hope you guys succede in making this propertyright again. there used to be a car graveyard on that block, did that get cleaned up?