1731 Monroe St.

District: Carrollton - Partial Control

Owner: Francis Craig Jr

HDLC Staff: Jesse Stephenson

Rating: Contributing

Applicant: Jones Ambra

Permit #:  24-00359-HDLC

HDLC Guidelines: 

Section 12, Pages 23-24 of the Guidelines for New Construction, Additions and Demolition states that the demolition of all or portions of historic resources within a local Historic District or Landmark site are considered drastic actions, since they alter the character of the area. Once historic resources or buildings that contribute to the heritage of the community are destroyed, it is generally impossible to reproduce their design, texture, materials, details and their special character and interest in the neighborhood. When reviewing demolition applications at properties located within a Historic District or at a Landmark site, the HDLC uses the following criteria in its evaluations:

• The historic or architectural significance of the building or structure as designated by its “rating”: Contributing

• The importance of the building or structure to the tout ensemble of the area:  FEMA survey research estimate the double shotgun at 1731 Monroe was constructed from 1920-1930. The building is the last remaining double shotgun on the Green Street side of Monroe sited next to a new construction. The other side of Monroe is a full block face of historic two-family residences.

• The alternatives to demolition that have been explored by the applicant: New Construction of a two-story, two-family residential building.

• The difficulty or impossibility of reproducing such a building or structure because of its design, texture, material or detail: While reproduction might not be cost-prohibitive the building already lacks many original features. The building no longer has it's wood windows and doors but retains it's wood weatherboards and columns. The dwelling unit closest to Hickory Street suffered fire damage with much of it possibly needing to be reframed.

• The condition of the building or structure: HDLC Staff conducted an interior and exterior inspection on January 9, 2023 and found the building to be in very poor condition.

The building rests above grade on a pier and beam foundation. The wall framing is predominantly barge-board construction and covered in wood weatherboards with gable roof. At the rear of the building an addition with a shed roof meets the rear wall. The roofing material consists of asphalt shingles.

The exterior of the building has heavy vegetation on the roof and walls. Many of the windows and weatherboards were either broken or deteriorated. The brick foundation appeared to be in fair condition but would need extensive repairs or full replacement. The roof did not appear to be properly shedding water as evidenced by a moisture saturated interior. The roof at the rear shed addition had failed and collapsed inward.

The sills at the sides of the building were in fair condition. The central girder appeared to have small shims at some locations. Many floor, wall, and ceiling joists were heavily damaged from the fire. There is likely heavy termite damage where the weatherboards are missing.

The interior of the dwelling unit closest to Hickory Street suffered heavy fire damage. Much of the flooring is not salvageable. In other areas that were not damaged the floors were soft due to heavy water saturation. Overall the interior was heavily damaged by water intrusion.

• Staff Recommendations: While reproduction may not be cost prohibitive the building has lost many of the character defining features of a shotgun building. The fire damage has essentially destroyed the dwelling. Additionally the redevelopment plan would replace the two dwelling units with two new units to bring it back in to commerce. For the aforementioned reasons, Staff recommends approval of the demolition to grade.

• Recommendation: Approval