PRESERVATION 2012 A Report to Mayor Madeline Rogero Prepared by the Knoxville-Knox Metropolitan Planning Commission March 2013 2012 Historic Zoning Commissioners Scott Busby, AIA, Chair Sandra Martin, Vice Chair Sean Bolen Faris Eid, AIA Lorie Matthews Melissa McAdams Andie Ray Melynda Whetsel Jason Woodle Prepared by Historic Zoning Commission staff Kaye Graybeal, AICP Submitted to: Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission April 11, 2013 Knoxville-Knox County Historic Zoning Commission April 18, 2013 Knoxville City Council April 30, 2013 Table of Contents Historic Zoning District Overlay Background 1 Historic Zoning Commission Design Review 1 Notable Historic Zoning Overlay Projects 2 National Register of Historic Places Nominations 7 Historic School Buildings 9 Downtown Design (D-1) Overlay District 13 Historic Sign Designation 15 APA Great Streets Designation 16 Recommendations for Action 17 State of Historic Preservation in the City of Knoxville 2012 The City’s Charter, as amended in 2002, requires that an annual report on the state of historic preservation within the City of Knoxville be reviewed by the Metropolitan Planning Commission and presented to the City Mayor. The Mayor, in turn, is to present the report to the Knoxville City Council. Historic Zoning District Overlay Background In 1991, residents of Mechanicsville joined forces to create the city’s first residential H-1 historic district overlay. Old North Knoxville followed suit in 1992, and in late 2003 the neighborhood worked with the Historic Zoning Commission to develop their own set of design guidelines. Those districts were followed shortly thereafter with H-1 overlay zoning for the 4th & Gill and Edgewood-Park City neighborhoods, and the Market Square Historic District. Another form of overlay zoning, designed to protect historic buildings from demolition and assure that new construction is compatible with existing character, is called Neighborhood Conservation Overlay (NC-1) zoning which designates the Tazewell Pike, Scenic Drive, Fort Sanders, Fairmont Park, and Gobbler’s Knob/Sherrod Road districts. Individual historic properties are also afforded protection under the historic zoning overlay. Historic Zoning Commission Design Review The Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission and MPC staff reviewed 120 requests for Certificates of Appropriateness over the calendar year 2012, a slight increase over the previous year’s 115. The 4th and Gill and Old North Knoxville districts led the way with 44 and 42 reviews respectively. Edgewood-Park City turned in 11 applications. District COAs Reviewed Fourth and Gill H-1 44 (1 denial) Old North Knoxville H-1 42 Park City-Edgewood H-1 11 (1 denial) Market Square H-1 7 Old Mechanicsville H-1 5 (1 denial) Individual properties H-1 4 Ft. Sanders NC H-1 4 Fairmont Park NC-1 2 Tazewell Pike NC-1 1 1 Notable Historic Overlay (H-1) Projects Walker-Sherrill House purchase 9320 Kingston Pike In an effort to preserve and adaptively reuse the antebellum (c. 1849) Walker Sherrill House, all parties recently agreed that the lot on which the house site and H-1 Overlay boundaries could be reduced so that the property became more affordable for someone willing to restore the house. The preservation proposal by new owner Bill Hodges focuses on preserving the most important components of the house while adaptively reusing it as leased office space. Vintage photo of the c. 1849 Walker-Sherrill House Knox Heritage and MPC Historic Zoning staff visit the Sherrill House 2 Westwood (John and Adelia Armstrong Lutz House) 3425 Kingston Pike Knox Heritage received a $250,000 gift from the Aslan Foundation in September 2012 toward capital it must raise to reach its goal of establishing a regional center for historic preservation at Westwood. Knox Heritage plans to apply for historic overlay zoning (H-1) for the house. Known for its serpentine brick wall along Kingston Pike, Westwood is one of three houses built by three generations of the Armstrong family. Knox Heritage must raise $750,000 before taking possession of the house and announced a larger $3 million capital campaign in September. The first $1 million would go toward the restoring and maintaining the mansion. The second million would go to Knox Heritage's endangered property fund, helping the group to purchase threatened historic buildings and sell them to preservation-sensitive buyers. The remaining funds would serve as an endowment to help assure the long-term stability of Knox Heritage. Earlier in 2012, the Aslan Foundation bought Westwood and surrounding property from the estate of the Lutz’s granddaughter. The foundation, operated by the family of the late attorney and philanthropist Lindsay Young, also will pay for Winston-Salem, N.C.-based preservation architect Joseph Opperman to restore Westwood. The Aslan Foundation will apply to MPC for a “use-on-review” to allow the house and property to be used as a museum managed by Knox Heritage. Knox Heritage has also requested to locate its offices there, with the restoration anticipated for completion in April 2014. 3 Homemaker’s Program 611 Gill Avenue This property in the Fourth and Gill Neighborhood was condemned and owned by the City as a part of the Homemakers’ Program. The bid for purchasing the house was awarded to Jonathan and Cheryl Ball / Bentley and Jessica Brackett of Oak Valley Construction and their proposal for renovation was approved. The group has restored the formerly multi-unit house to single-family home. Its location at the gateway of the historic district makes its renovation of particular importance to the community. A dilapidated 611 Gill in 2010 6 09 We0ri ooui611 A restored exterior / renovated interior make this house very marketable 6-09oiok 66 669o DD 4 Old County Courthouse windows A contract was awarded to Architectural Specialties, Inc. by the Public Building Authority in September 2012 to repair the courthouse historic windows. The decision was made to install storm windows to lend an energy efficiency that will exceed that of new windows. The work will begin in Spring 2013. County Courthouse –east façade 1 Market Square / 407 Union Avenue Renovation of the historic facades of the Oliver Hotel on both Union Street and Market Square included new storefront installation to more closely resemble the historic. A Central Business Improvement District (CBID) façade grant of $125,000 bolstered an additional $650,000 of investment by two restaurants. The corner prominent and popular restaurant opened in October of 2012. New cafe at 1 Market Square 5 Slate Roof Replacement on Historic Overlay Properties Slate roofs on many homes in Knoxville were damaged irreparably by major hailstorms that plagued the area in 2011. Replacement of these roofs with natural slate in some cases has not been feasible, especially when the costs of slate roof repair approach the value of the house itself, causing insurance companies to deny coverage for slate replacement. “The relatively large percentage of historic buildings roofed with slate during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries means that many slate roofs, and the 60 to 125 year life span of the slates most commonly used, may be nearing the end of their serviceable lives at the end of the twentieth century” (National Park Service, Department of the Interior, 1992). In the examples below, both 505 E. Scott Avenue in Old North Knox H-1 and Crescent Bend were able to obtain insurance coverage for slate roof replacement. However, insurance did not cover the damage and wear on two houses located on Jefferson Avenue in the Edgewood-Park City H-1; therefore, the Historic Zoning Commission approved two different types of metal shingles as an alternative. Crescent Bend Kingston Pike 1912 Washington Avenue 505 E. Scott Avenue 1724 Washnigton Avenue 6 Potential National Register Nominations Westmoreland Water Wheel & related properties Sherwood Drive At the request of the Westmoreland Heights Community Association, Knox Heritage staff is preparing a National Register nomination for the Westmoreland Water Wheel and three later associated residential properties. A fieldstone structure was built c. 1923 that contained devices for pumping and supplying water to the neighborhood. The wheel house and motif were designed by prominent designer Charles F. Barber. The properties include Glencraig and Craiglen, both Craig-family homes, as well as the water wheel, wheelhouse, and gate post. Waterwheel housing structure and gateway structure c. 1925 One of the original houses served by the wheel pumping system 7 Happy Holler Commercial District along N. Central Street Happy Holler Commercial District along E. Anderson Avenue Happy Holler Commercial District N. Central Street A final draft National Register nomination for this proposed district was submitted in 2012 to address comments by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The nomination will be shared with local property owners and other stakeholders prior to official designation by the National Park Service. The commercial neighborhood is exemplary as a community- oriented shopping significant for its depiction of the history of Knoxville’s streetcar suburbs during the early 20th-century (1900-1940). During recent decades, community-oriented uses have been increasingly flourishing in Happy Holler and several buildings have been restored. Improvements to storefronts, with several of the designs by the Community Design Center, have been made with Façade Improvement Grants. These grants are enabled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Empowerment Zone Program. 8 Historic School Buildings Below is a summary of the status of three school buildings within the city limits that are slated for future adaptive reuse The plight of these public properties has heightened the awareness of stakeholders on the importance of stewardship of historic school buildings that were once assets within vibrant neighborhoods. Left to blight, these dilapidated buildings negatively impact property values and discourage private investment. Oakwood Elementary School 232 E. Churchwell Avenue The school was built in three phases in 1914, the 1950s and the 1960s and closed 16 years ago.