Historic Preservation

A408Studio Architecture and Design PLLC is the Architect and interior Designer of Record.  A408Studio Inc is the permitted General Contractor of Record responsible for the selective demolition, stabilization, reconstruction, mechancial/electrical/plumbing rennovation and rough-in, and preservation and restoration of the historic envelope and interior spaces of the home.  The Owners, Rick and Susan Stone employesd a 3rd party to complete the interior spaces per A408Studio's design including painting, floor refinishing, cabinetry, and fixture instalation.

 

The City of Greensboro, HPC, submitted the paperwork for all State Historic Preservation tax credit applications.

 

OCTOBER 30, 2013   Preservation Greensboro Purchases Endangered College Hill Home

 

Preservation Greensboro acquired the 105-year-old Carrie and Charles Angle Houselocated at 919 Spring Garden Street in the heart of the College Hill Historic District. The organization is marketing the property to purchasers who will complete a restoration of the home.

 

The home was first occupied by the Angle family, natives of Henry County Virginia. The couple moved to Greensboro in 1907 and Charles took a position in the city as a lumber merchant. Through their daughter Ruth, the Angle family maintained ownership of the house for a remarkable 69 years! Ruth is remembered in Greensboro as a librarian at nearby UNCG.

 

Subsequent owners of the house converted the single family house to four rental apartments in the 1980s, and the property was acquired by members of College Place United Methodist Church in 1998. In June of 2011 a fire damaged the roof and rear portions of the house. Although the church was granted a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition with a 365-day delay by the Greensboro Preservation Commission in the summer of 2012, Preservation Greensboro began negotiations the church to determine alternatives to demolition. With funds from the neighborhood’s Municipal Service District (MSD) Program, Preservation Greensboro was able to acquire the property in a transaction today. 

 

This is the first case in which MSD funds have been used directly for historic preservation purposes in Greensboro, a major development made possible through the work of the College Hill Neighborhood Association and their District 3 City Council representative, Zack Matheny, who took the initiative to persuade City Council to amend the applicable ordinances to expand the possible uses for MSD funding to include historic preservation purposes.

 

The approximately 3,800 square foot house will require a complete restoration in order to return its plan to a single-family layout, per stipulations placed on the house by Preservation Greensboro. Architectural features such as the original diamond-pane windows and wide wrap-around porch must be retained. Some interior appointments, such as the original fireplace and oak flooring must also be retained. These features will be protected by a preservation easement, held and monitored by Preservation Greensboro.

 

As a contributing property within the College Hill National Register District, the house is eligible to apply to the State Historic Preservation Office for income tax credits through the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program as a Certified Rehabilitation project. The program can allow homeowners a state tax credit of 30% for rehabilitation work that must meet The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. 

 

“This is an important day for College Hill and for preservation in Greensboro” says Benjamin Briggs, Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro, “because the members of College Place United Methodist Church recognized the value of this property to the neighborhood and the city as a whole. They and the residents of the College Hill neighborhood have provided this landmark a new lease on life that will result in a major investment and increased tax base. This is what historic preservation does best.

 

UPDATE:   Century Old College Hill Home Sold for Restoration

 

 

The Carrie and Charles Angle House commands one of College Hill’s busiest streets, but the vacant structure has provided a gloomy entrance to the historic neighborhood since a June 2011 fire. Beginning today, a new owner will turn the neighborhood’s worst house into a show house as work commences to restore the historic home’s shine.

 

Located at 919 Spring Garden Street, the home is an excellent example of an American Foursquare with Colonial Revival features. The house sports diamond pane windows, bay windows, attenuated columns, and clapboard siding reminiscent of early American homes

 

Carrie Lee Finney and her husband Charles Joel Angle were the first occupants of the house after it was constructed in 1907, and the couple remained in the house until their deaths in 1942 – a remarkable 35 year span in ownership! Their daughter Mary Ruth inherited the property. She was an alumna of UNCG, and served as a school librarian. At some point in the id-twentieth century, the large home was converted to apartments as investment property.

 

In 1999 the property was acquired by members of College Place United Methodist Church, and ownership transitioned to the church in 2008. The church utilized the apartment house for income until the fire damaged much of the rear of the structure. In order to provide an alternative course to demolition, the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund partnered with the College Hill Neighborhood Association and the City of Greensboro to acquire the property and market the project to a homeowner.

 

The home will be purchased by Susan and Judge Richard W. Stone, who will restore the residence for use as their family home. A large addition to the rear that accommodated apartments will be removed, and the house will be “right-sized” for single family use. In addition, a thorough rehabilitation will solve structural issues, rewire electrical needs, install new HVAC, plumbing, as well as bathrooms and a kitchen. Features important to the architectural history of the house including the diamond glass windows, the wrap-around porch, the wood siding and the slate roof will be restored and maintained.

 

The public-private partnership that saved the house from demolition is innovative for Greensboro. The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund purchased an option to acquire the house in April 2012, and the College Hill Neighborhood Association approved use of their Municipal Service District tax funds to purchase the house from the Methodist Church in October 2013. The private investment now being made by the Stones is crucial to the entire project moving forward. The partnership is pioneering because of the commitment made by the neighborhood to secure the future of the home. The alternative to preservation in this case would certainly have been a grass lot.

 

The College Hill neighborhood is enjoying renewed interest as downtown becomes more popular and UNCG expands. Tate Street is now a city hotspot for café culture, and several restaurants have opened featuring ethnic and alternative foods. Nearby cultural institutions such as the Weatherspoon Art Museum and Aycock Auditorium round-out the neighborhood as one of the most urban in North Carolina.

 

The house is a contributing structure in the College Hill Historic District (Local) and the National Register Historic District. The project will likely be one of the last in Greensboro to utilize the North Carolina Historic Preservation State Tax Credits before they expire on the last day of 2014. In addition, the house will also carry a preservation easement that will monitored by Preservation Greensboro and will disallow multi-family use of the property. The design-build firm A408 has been selected as the contractor. Work begins Wednesday, September 10th.

 

For more information, contact Benjamin Briggs at bbriggs@blandwood.org or by phone at 336-272-5003.