A nationally recognized construction company with over $2 billion in construction currently underway, with experience in 38 states, and countless awards under its belt is planning to restore Greensboro’s historic Cascade Saloon to house its regional office.
The Christman Company is a fully management-owned general contractor that is nationally recognized for its work in historic preservation. The company was founded in 1894 by H.G. Christman in South Bend, Indiana, and has eight full-service offices nationwide—Lansing, Detroit, and Grand Rapids in Michigan; Reston, Virginia; Augusta, Georgia, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Cascade Saloon was constructed in 1896 on South Elm Street between the North Carolina Railroad tracks to the north, and a spur of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway to the south. The architect of the building is unknown, but it is clearly part of a family of Elm Street buildings designed by the same hand that share granite window sills and lintels, as well as patterned brickwork, and elaborate cornices.
By 1907, the building housed an “eating house” owned by Wiley Weaver. Weaver and his wife Ida were African-American, and the couple operated the café at a time when Jim Crow Laws sought to segregate African-Americans apart from white-owned businesses. The fact that the Weavers ran their business on Greensboro’s main commercial street is an unusual footnote in Greensboro’s history.
Christman plans to complete a “ship in a bottle construction” that will see a new support structure erected inside the historic brick walls. The building’s exterior will be preserved and restored using historic photos. Upon completion, Christman will place its Greensboro office in the building to showcase as an example of its work, employing engineers and project managers in the building. Creative professionals in the construction industry from throughout North Carolina and beyond will travel to Greensboro to conduct business in the building, being reminded in the process of Greensboro’s position as a leader in adaptive reuse and preservation of iconic historic structures.
The structure was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and it was recognized as a Guilford County Landmark in 2005. South Elm Street enjoyed a revival as investors and preservationists have restored shopfronts for artists, restaurants, and antique dealers.
The project is complicated. The adjacent North Carolina Railroad claims a right-of-way that includes a number of important buildings in downtown Greensboro including the Cascade Saloon. In addition, state historic tax credits have been discontinued. That likely would have doomed the project if an anonymous donor had not stepped forward to make a large private contribution to the effort. If the building is demolished, the railroad’s proximity will likely preclude any reconstruction on the parcel, denying Greensboro the tax revenue, the connectivity north and south of the tracks, and economic revenue that a revitalized Cascade Saloon will contribute to the city as a rehabilitated and occupied structure. Once removed, the site would likely be relegated to use as a gravel parking lot, creating a wide rift separating the 300 and 500 blocks of Elm Street.
Through this partnership with Christman, Greensboro is taking a path that is both historically respectful and fiscally prudent. The city is enjoying reinvestment in a key landmark building, and it will enjoy the construction jobs, the property tax revenue, and the salaried positions that come with this project, says Benjamin Briggs, Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro. “This is a win-win-win for the city.”
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.
On Monday, the Greensboro City Council approved a resolution to authorize conveyance of the Cascade Saloon to the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund. Council also approved an allocation of $175,000 dedicated to the preservation and rehabilitation of the structure.
The Cascade Saloon, located between the railroad tracks at 408-410 South Elm Street, was likely constructed around 1896, making it among the oldest properties in the Downtown Greensboro National Register Historic District. The District, certified in 1982 through the efforts of the Old Greensboro Preservation Society, was a way to promote the history and unique architecture of center city and to facilitate historic preservation efforts through the use of federal tax credits.
The Saloon has housed numerous small businesses over the course of its history, including a café operated by Ida and Wiley Weaver. The Weavers were African-American, and yet they operated the café on Greensboro’s primary thoroughfare at a time when Jim Crow Laws sought to segregate African-Americans away from white-owned businesses. The fact that the Weavers ran their business on Greensboro’s main commercial street is a remarkable footnote in Greensboro’s history. By 1913, the café was operated as the Cascade Billiard Parlor, one of only five pool halls in the city.
In spite of its rich past, the recent history of the Saloon has been mixed. Although the former owner, Ross Strange, applied for and was granted local “Landmark” designation through the Guilford County Preservation Commission and Greensboro City Council in 2008, the structure also suffered from years of deferred maintenance that caused concerns for safety. As a remedy to these concerns, as early as 2002 the City ordered that the building be demolished. In recent years, and in consideration of its two historic designations, the city acquired the structure last year in order to provide an alternative remedy to demolition and pave the way for preservation of the structure.
As a nonprofit organization with a mission to pursue property acquisitions and partnerships to foster an enhanced environment by preserving and rehabilitating structures such as the Saloon, the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund sought to work with the city to develop a plan for refurbishment of the building. With the agreement passed on Monday in place, the Fund may now refine several options that will see the building restored and conveyed back to private ownership. Sale of the building to any entity will be conditional, based on agreement with the Fund to rehabilitate the structure to standards set by the US Secretary of the Interior and within a time period. Any sale will also be accomplished with a preservation easement attached to the deed. The easement will help manage the property into the future, requiring approval by the easement holder (the Fund) for major changes or alterations.
Broadly speaking, the Fund has several goals to accomplish as part of their stewardship of the property. These goals include security and stabilization of the structure; restoration and rehabilitation of the structure to the US Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; and placement of tenant(s) inside the structure that will contribute to the vital street scene in Old Greensborough. Tenants could include commercial uses such as office space, restaurant or bars, arts venues or galleries, or retail uses. In the process of restoration, the windows will be restored, the elaborate Victorian cornice will be restored, and some of the remaining “ghost signs” will be retained or enhanced.
The Development Fund has a 12 month window to identify and select a course of action for the future of the Cascade Saloon. In the event that the Fund cannot locate a willing buyer to restore or stabilize this property within 12 months of closing (or has not undertaken to do so itself), the City retains the right to repurchase the property for $1.00 and Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, Inc will return the $175,000.00 to the City of Greensboro.
The City’s elected officials and staff recognized the significance of the Cascade Saloon in the continuing transformation of the historic district. Exciting venues such as the Civil Rights Museum, the Elsewhere Museum, theaters, restaurants, and unique retail establishments have solidified Old Greensborough’s reputation as a regional destination, and historic preservation efforts are the key feature driving this brand. In recognizing that no structure would be allowed on the site of the Cascade Saloon due to its location adjacent to the railroad, city officials have seized the opportunity to enhance the pedestrian link across the rails and draw commercial activity and shoppers south along Elm Street towards Union Square.
Over the next several months, the Development Fund will continue to explore prospects and opportunities for rehabilitation of the Saloon. The vision of the property restored and contributing aesthetically and economically to the city is strong motivation for getting this challenging project off paper, and into construction!
The historic Model Farm, a center for agriculture in late nineteenth century North Carolina, has been sold to the not-for-profit organization The Model Farm in High Point, NC, Inc. through an arrangement facilitated by Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, which had owned the property for several years. The property will be restored by its new owner for use as a Counseling Center, and the surrounding acreage will once again be used for agricultural and educational purposes. Preservation Greensboro will maintain a protective easement on the property, which is a designated Guilford County landmark and also on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Model Farm was built around 1868, just three years after the close of the Civil War. The Quaker community led an ambitious Reconstruction Era initiative to establish a “demonstration farm.” This farm, like today’s Agricultural Extension Service, taught North Carolina’s farmers practical methods to increase their yield through fertilization and improved animal husbandry. In addition to agricultural practices, the “Model Farm” instigated a new standard of housing to the Carolina Piedmont that quickly became a template for rural construction into the next century.
The plan was developed by Francis T. King, a Friend (Quaker) from Baltimore, Maryland who represented a group of individuals from that city who shared concerns about the war ravaged southern states. The Baltimore Association of Friends to Advise and Assist Friends in the Southern States was a relief group with strong financial resources to help leverage the region out of its economic turmoil. Central Carolina farmers would be provided a path to improvement if they remained Tar Heels.
William A. Sampson, a Maine farmer with a strong scientific background, was hired and work began on new and efficient farm buildings. A wide array of specialized structures were built, including a barn, hog and poultry houses, a “rat-proof” corn crib, a granary, a seed barn, sheds for farming equipment, and a bone mill for fertilizer. The farm was stocked with Alderney and Jersey cattle donated by Quakers in Maryland. The farm also featured Berkshire and Poland China hogs and a flock of Southdown sheep.
The farm attracted a great deal of attention for its progressive and innovative agricultural practices (North Carolina Governor Jonathan Worth proclaimed the farm as the “only green spot” in the Carolinas).
The farmhouse was unlike any other building in the area, and served as a prototype for “triple-A” house forms, so named by the three triangular gables that grace the front and sides of the roofline. Today, the ubiquitous triple-A is found along country roads and shaded streets of early neighborhoods in most Piedmont cities. After twenty-five years of service, the Baltimore Association considered its job complete and sold the property for private use in 1891.
In 2011, Model Farm owners Ruth and Bruce Whitten donated the house to Preservation Greensboro with protective easements as a way to preserve the landmark and benefit the community. Kent Berry, the President of the new owner’s Board, envisions the restored property used to benefit the south High Point, Archdale-Trinity, and Thomasville communities through accessible counseling services, educational programs, and sustainable organic gardening/farming in the tradition of the property. Examples of planned activities include school field trips to learn about farming, senior adult activities, and nutrition and health classes. More can be learned at the website www.themodelfarm.org.
One of North Carolina’s most interesting Civil War-era historic sites has been given by its former owner to Preservation Greensboro’s Development Fund, which in turn plans to sell the property to a buyer who presents the best plan to preserve the property.
The Model Farm is located at 2058 Brentwood Street in the southern section of High Point. The house was constructed around 1867 just after the Civil War by Quakers, and stands as an important site representing Quaker history. It was important for providing new agricultural technology to farmers in the state that were suffering from the devastation caused by the Civil War. During the 1870s and 1880s, the farm attracted a great deal of attention for its progressive and innovative agricultural practices. It was so successful that North Carolina Governor Jonathan Worth proclaimed the farm as the “only green spot” in the Carolinas.
The two-acre tract of land contains the original farmhouse, a 2,300 square foot home with many historic details such as a wide front porch, a three-sided bay window bay, and arched windows in the walk-in attic. Interior appointments reflect Quaker values of simplicity and include high-ceilings, plaster walls and ceilings, and running water. These amenities were novel in the South in the years after the Civil War. Due to the site’s deep history and unusual features, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The property was donated to the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, Inc. on December 27, 2011 by former owners Ruth and Bruce Whitten of Manteca, California. The gift was made through a deed that incorporates preservation restrictions requiring a working dialog between future owners of the Model Farm and Preservation Greensboro to ensure that the house and its charming details are refurbished and remain intact for future generations to enjoy. This is the first property in High Point to enjoy the protection of an easement through Preservation Greensboro, and the ninth in Guilford County. Other historic properties protected with easements established and administered by Preservation Greensboro are located in Greensboro and Whitsett.
According to Benjamin Briggs, a resident of High Point and Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro, “we are grateful that Ruth and Bruce Whitten place such a value on our North Carolina Quaker heritage that they saw the opportunity to donate the house as a way to benefit the entire community. Their generosity will allow the historic Model Farm a chance to be reconditioned for future uses that will secure its place in the twenty-first century!”
The Model Farm will be sold to a prospective purchaser who will enter into a rehabilitation agreement with Preservation Greensboro providing that all plans and modifications to the property as part of its rehabilitation and/or restoration are subject to final approval by the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund. Interested parties should contact Benjamin Briggs at 336-272-5003 to further discuss Preservation Greensboro’s process for partnering with a purchaser who will acquire and rehabilitate the Model Farm property.
Due to its historic significance, the Model Farm has access to tax credits and deferments. Tax credits from the State and perhaps from the Federal government could be incorporated into restoration plans depending on the property’s final use. In addition, the property is recognized as a Guilford County Landmark, a designation that allows for a 50% property tax deferment in exchange for preserving the historic character of the site.
The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund was initially formed in 1988 and completes its mission by acquiring ownership or other legal interests (such as preservation easements) in historic properties, or by identifying partners to rehabilitate and protect historic properties throughout Guilford County. Its first project was the purchase and resale of the 1845 Troy-Bumpass House, a Greek Revival home in the heart of Greensboro’s College Hill historic district. The house was restored in 1992 and today serves the community as an inn under the jurisdiction of preservation easements. Recent projects include the sale of a Craftsman Bungalow in the Fisher Park neighborhood of Greensboro that had been under a demolition order to a purchaser who will restore it, as well as the relocation of several historic cottages in the Glenwood neighborhood of Greensboro to avoid their demolition in connection with the expansion of UNCG’s campus.
The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund has sold the Sweeney – Penn House at 910 Magnolia Street in the Fisher Park neighborhood. The house was purchased by Cheryl Pratt and Tracy Pratt, AIA and stands as one of Greensboro’s best examples of Craftsman design. The couple will commence a meticulous restoration of the property that has been vacant almost ten years.
The Sweeney – Penn House (image, right) was constructed around 1917. The first occupants were Madge and Roy Sweeney. Roy Sweeney was a traveling salesman. The couple owned the home only 18 months before selling it to Sue and John Thomas Penn. Thomas Penn was Vice President of Southern Atlantic Lumber Company, a wholesaler of North Carolina grown pine and oak. In 1921 the home was purchased by Emily and Charles McIver, the eldest son of UNCG founder of the same name.
Ordered to be demolished in 2009 by the City of Greensboro for its deteriorated condition, the Sweeney – Penn House was part of a complicated estate that was unsettled and therefore could not be sold to new owners. The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund worked with the owner of the property to finalize the estate and then sought qualified buyers to purchase and properly restore the home. After several truckloads of personal items were removed by volunteers, the house was featured on Preservation Greensboro’s 2011 Tour of Historic Homes showcasing Fisher Park and Aycock neighborhoods in May when hundreds enjoyed its distinctive architectural details (image, right). This summer, the Fund negotiated an agreement to sell the home to Greensboro residents Cheryl and Tracy Pratt. The couple will thoroughly restore the Craftsman-design of the house, including unusual latticework in the eaves and Arts and Crafts interior design elements.
The property was sold with a preservation easement attached to the deed that will require a working dialog between future property owners of the Sweeney – Penn House and Preservation Greensboro to ensure that the house and its charming details are refurbished and remain intact for future generations to enjoy. This is the first such property in Fisher Park to enjoy the protection of an easement, and the eighth in Guilford County. Other properties protected with in easements the county include the Bumpass – Troy House in College Hill and the Esther Barker House on Cedar Street.
According to Benjamin Briggs, Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro, “we are pleased that we have been able to save this house from demolition. It is one of the best examples of Craftsman architecture in the city. The Pratt’s promise to be wonderful stewards of this home that will now be the best protected in all of Fisher Park!”
The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund was initially formed in 1988 and completes its mission by acquiring ownership or other legal interests (such as preservation easements) in historic properties, or by identifying partners to rehabilitate and protect historic properties. Its first project was the purchase and resale of the 1845 Troy-Bumpass House, a Greek Revival home in the heart of Greensboro’s College Hill historic district. The house was restored in 1992 and today serves the community as an inn under the jurisdiction of preservation easements. The second project involved the purchase of the 1855 D. P. Foust House, a Queen Anne farmhouse threatened by development of a golf course. The home was restored in 1993 and remains a private residence today with preservation easements in place.
The Glenwood Neighborhood is the scene of an innovative partnership that is working to preserve historic houses as part of the expansion of the UNCG campus.
The partnership includes the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, a think-tank of
preservation-oriented professionals affiliated with Preservation Greensboro Incorporated, and officials from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The collaborative effort will result in fewer structures being destroyed, fewer tons of building materials being sent to landfills, and a stronger neighborhood featuring the craftsmanship and charm of historic homes.
The Development Fund, which maintains a pool of capital that it wields strategically to catalyze preservation projects, is now poised to relocate three houses in the 800 blocks of Highland Avenue and Gregory Street. The Development Fund acquired the houses, which were built in the 1910s and 1920s, from UNCG. The two homes from Highland Avenue are Craftsman bungalows and the house from Gregory Street is a Queen Anne cottage. All three houses will be relocated to vacant lots in the 800 block of nearby Haywood Street where they will join a fourth house that will remain on its original foundations and also be rehabilitated by the Development Fund.
The three houses to be moved are already “jacked up” on steel beams and began rolling through Glenwood to their new locations this morning. The moves are expected to continue into Saturday, December 17 and possibly even Monday, December 19. The Development Fund has contracted with Blake Moving Company of Greensboro, a nationally recognized house mover, to perform the moves. All three houses, once moved and rehabilitated, will be maintained as single family residences, along with the fourth house adjacent to them.
The impending UNCG project will provide a $200 million mixed-use village development for UNCG
that will initially accommodate 800 students just south of West Lee Street in an area formerly
composed of historic houses, light industrial buildings, and vacant lots. The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund has worked over the past year to identify historic houses that were salvageable as well as vacant lots along the fringe of the project to which houses could be relocated.
Preservation Greensboro’s Executive Director Benjamin Briggs remarks, “This project exemplifies the innovative spirit of our city as we find a solution that meets the needs of the University as well as the positive impact of historic preservation in Glenwood. In the end, this will result in a streetscape of vintage houses that otherwise would have been relegated to the landfill.”
Upon completion, all four houses will be restored, and their futures will be monitored through a preservation easement that will focus on the maintenance, appearance, and use of the properties. “This is a way that we can actively work with Glenwood residents to assure that the houses are well maintained into the future. That is what historic preservation is all about.”
All four houses should be restored within the next year, and the Development Fund is seeking interested buyers, who will have the option of taking on some aspects of the restoration work themselves.
The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund is an affiliate nonprofit to Preservation Greensboro, and was founded in 1988. It has preserved several historic structures such as the Bumpass-Try House in College Hill, the Bowman House on Bellevue Street, and the Esther Barker House now located on Cedar Street.
The J. T. Penn House, a charming Craftsman bungalow at 910 Magnolia Street, might have a new lease on life!
The two-story frame residence was constructed between 1915 and 1920 by Penn, the vice-president of Southern Atlantic Lumber Company. It features extraordinary Craftsman details, including post-on-brick-pier porch supports, multiple-pane upper window sashes, unusual exposed stickwork in the dormer gable, and exposed rafter tails.
In spite of its classic architectural style, the house has gained attention recently for its poor condition within one of the city's most successful historic district. In fact, the property has been the subject of a petition by neighbors requesting city action to clean up the house and grounds. As part of a larger issue in Greensboro of derelict houses in historic districts, the house made the front cover of Preservation Greensboro's Landmarks Newsmagazine in the summer of 2009 as one of our Treasured Places Watch List properties.
Recently, the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund was able to enter into an agreement with the property's owners to seek a buyer for the house. Through the Development Fund, any buyers would be required through covenants to repair the structure in accordance with the Secretary of Interiors Standards. All future repairs and improvements to the house would need to be approved by the Development Fund.
Details are still being determined regarding the sale of the house. Stay tuned to this blog and our Facebook page for information!
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