The Gaithersburg Historic District Commission won't block demolition of a historic house at 403 E. Diamond Avenue in Olde Towne Gaithersburg. Commissioners voted 4-0-1 to not direct the City Manager to withhold issuance of a demolition permit, with Chair Dean Ventola abstaining from the vote. Ventola said he could not vote to allow beautiful architecture to be demolished, but that he did not want to vote to block the proposed redevelopment of the site, or the consensus of his colleagues.
Finecraft Contractors, a multigenerational family-owned construction company located in the City of Gaithersburg, is seeking to replace the 1907 Foursquare-Folk Victorian home with a 3-story office building. Constructed of brick with metal elements, the building would contain office space and a woodshop. The site faces relatively-new apartments across E. Diamond Avenue, and its rear property line is adjacent to the CSX railroad tracks.
Commissioner Mary Jo LaFrance expressed interest in salvaging several of the architectual components of the building, such as the windows and siding. LaFrance noted that while the home is almost 120 years old, the wood siding may have come from trees that grew up 300 years ago. She said historic property owners in Gaithersburg would likely want these materials to replace worn or rotten elements of their homes. However, the attorney advising the HDC on behalf of the City said the commission did not have authority at the demolition permit stage to attach conditions to their decision. He said that the HDC could make a strong recommendation in its courtesy review of the proposed office building that the Planning Commission add such a salvage effort as a condition of site plan approval for that new structure.
Photos via City of Gaithersburg
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