The house at 127 Dunning St. in Malta has been standing since 1850 on a patch of land known as the Parade Ground. Militia drills were conducted there during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and the building itself once served as the parsonage for the historic Malta Presbyterian Church. It is one of four buildings in the Dunning Street Historic District, which was settled around 1771 and declared a historic district by the Malta Town Board in 1990.
Now, this structure is in danger of being demolished by its owner, Green Malta Development Group, LLC, because of extensive damage sustained by a maple tree limb during a hailstorm in June 2008. It has been trying to gain approval for demolition from the Town of Malta Historic Preservation Review Commission since February 2009. On Monday, Dec. 21, the commission met again with the development group and was deadlocked in their decision.
James T. Roberts of Green Malta Development Group, LLC said that while he appreciates the historical aspects of the property, he believes the building itself lacks historical significance and is damaged too extensively to save.
My engineer said that as far as structural damage and being unstable, the building is 50 percent beyond repair 50 percent of the roof and northeast wall would have to be removed and replaced. A minimum of 25 percent of the second floor is damaged and there is mold throughout 100 percent of the building. The mold has worsened over the year, but I don’t believe it has anything to do with what I’ve done or haven’t done to prevent thatonce mold is in there and contained, it will grow in the heat or cold. Last time I was there, there were mold spores probably four inches all over the top of the floor, you literally have to walk on the mold,` said Roberts. `My opinion is that it would be unfeasible and financially burden to remove the mold and to preserve the building. The outside Parade Ground is historical, from the house out, but I’m not so certain about the building itself, especially since it’s been remodeled two or three different times in the last few decades.`
Since Roberts believes that roughly 50 percent of the house’s materials are not consistent with original architecture or building practices, demolishing the home should not pose a risk to the surrounding historic district. He said that he would be willing to preserve whatever building materials he could salvage from the demolition and incorporate it into future construction efforts on the property.
`Maybe a front floor was original with square nails but it has also sustained a lot of water damage and mold on that. Some other items could maybe be salvaged like a staircase, one or two doors, certainly the front of the building might be able to be salvaged, the doorway, and I’d be willing to do that,` said Roberts.
Christina Connolly owns a business at 123 Dunning St., directly next door to 127 Dunning St. and is in favor of demolishing the structure.
`[127] is an eyesore, safety issue and health hazard in the core of downtown. The district is not historic. Trying to run a small business next door is frustrating and sad. We’re compared to and thought of as those old houses falling down, rundown and abandoned,` said Connolly.
Roberts said that since he has been so forthcoming during the certificate of appropriateness process and complied with whatever the commission requested, he should be able to move ahead with the demolition if he agrees to salvage what historical remnants he can. Stephen Rutkey, chairman of the Historic Preservation Review Commission, had a starkly different opinion.
`I agree that the applicant has been forthcoming, accommodating and done a professional job. My only regret is that among all the effort made, none that I’m aware of has been toward attempting to save the house. Nowhere did our Town engineer conclude that the building is a safety hazard and should be immediately demolished, so I don’t understand why come effort can’t be made to save the building and retain its historical value,` said Rutkey.
Rutkey said that while the Dunning Street Historic District may not be considered a state or national landmark, it holds local historical significance and is important to the Town of Malta’s history. He and other members of the commission said they are reluctant to destroy something historic that they can’t get back. For that reason, he said he would deny the application for demolition and polled the rest of the commission for their opinion. It was a deadlock, with two members leaning towards approving the certificate with modifications, two denying it entirely, and one unsure.
Green Malta Development Group, LLC has the option to submit hardship applications to the Town Board. They are cost based and an evaluation to see if economic hardship can override historic considerations.
For more on this story, check back to spotlightnews.com or pick up the Dec. 23 print edition of Saratoga Spotlight.
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