Century-old Highland Park home demolished over calls for preservation in Park Cities

The demolition of a 94-year-old home is prompting an outcry from neighbors and preservationists in the prosperous enclave of Highland Park.

The home at 4415 Fairfax Ave. was once torn down starting the morning of Aug. 21, marking the most recent in a string of identical demolitions right through the community in contemporary years. At simply over 4,900 sq. ft, the four-bedroom, pier-and-beam home was once constructed in 1929, consistent with Dallas Central Appraisal District information.

While its architect is unknown, individuals of Preservation Park Cities — which advocates for ancient and architecturally vital properties in Highland Park and University Park — mentioned it mirrored the ancient persona of the group.

“It’s not that glamorous and big of a house, but it does reflect the historical development of the community,” mentioned Craig Melde, a neighborhood preservation architect, founding main of Architexas and a Preservation Park Cities board member. “I fear what will replace this house, as it contributed a nicely scaled house with historic character to the block.”

Many others proportion identical ideas, with indicators just lately posted alongside Fairfax Avenue that learn, “Preserve our street,” “This has got to stop,” “Save our town!” and “Shame, shame, shame.”

The builder who purchased and demolished the home disagrees.

“It was butchered in the ‘70s, and the house wasn’t salvageable,” mentioned Rozie Samei, co-founder of Plano-based Avida Custom Homes. She and her husband, David, had been development properties in Highland Park for about 15 years and in Dallas-Fort Worth since 1992.

Samei mentioned they had been open to transforming it after making an preliminary be offering in past due May and earlier than signing the contract June 2, however modified their minds after seeing the interior of the home earlier than remaining.

“We wrote the contract on good faith that were going to go in and renovate the house, but when we got in and inspected the house, it didn’t look like I can do anything with it,” Samei mentioned. “That was mentioned to the agent, and the agent assured me there is no problem with that.”

Elly Holder of Compass, the agent who represented the vendor, would say best that “at the time we executed the offer, the seller’s understanding was that the home would be renovated.”

Avida purchased the home June 16 from the Howard Family Trust, Dallas County information display. The worth was once now not disclosed, however the Dallas Central Appraisal District indexed the valuables’s marketplace worth at nearly $2.7 million. The land is valued at about $1.83 million, whilst the home’s worth is indexed at about $832,000.

Samei mentioned she let neighbors salvage some pieces, together with lighting fixtures, doorways, counter tops, plumbing fixtures and an air conditioner unit.

Highland Park does now not have rules concerning the preservation of ancient properties, the city’s construction products and services director, Hugh Pender, informed The Dallas Morning News in an electronic mail. The the town gained a request for a demolition allow on Aug. 15, and it was once issued two days later as it met all of the essential necessities, Pender mentioned.

Attempts to achieve Howard members of the family for remark had been unsuccessful. Samei recognized a number of commenters on Instagram posts as members of the family.

“We are not anxious to see the house our parents lived in for 46 years torn down but we cannot control what a buyer does or does not do,” Tom Howard commented on an Instagram post by means of design blogger Christina Dandar, referred to as The Potted Boxwood. “We were told by several different real estate professionals that the house would probably wind up being a tear down due to its condition. Like it or not, the market ultimately decides what happens to these older homes.”

Community outrage

While the demolition happened, an Instagram post from Dandar gained 1,766 replies. “My stance has always been, I don’t hate new builds,” she mentioned in the post. “What I don’t love is tearing down a historically significant home to do so.”

Before and after the demolition, 1000’s of other folks made feedback, in large part in opposition, on social media posts from Dandar and Preservation Park Cities.

“It’s really unfair that I’m becoming a poster child for preservation, even though there are so many other homes that have been torn down by so many other builders,” Samei mentioned.

Samei mentioned other folks referred to as her and informed her what to do with the home. The Persian American builder additionally gained a number of derogatory feedback on her corporate’s account about her race and look.

While Samei’s intent was once to are living in the home and in the group, she mentioned, the harassing feedback have made her rethink. She plans to construct the home regardless. A town allow to construct a brand new single-family home at the web site was once asked Aug. 16 however has now not but been issued, Pender mentioned.

“We’re about to retire, and the plan was for us to live here in this neck of the woods,” Samei mentioned. “I have friends up and down Fairfax. We wanted to live here, and this was going to be for me, but with all this animosity and hate and all these things that we are facing, we’re just thinking twice about it.”

Another neighbor on Fairfax, Liz Perry-Miller — who has lived there for 27 years — was once stunned by means of how different citizens reacted to the demolition. She mentioned different properties had been torn down at the block without a identical response.

“There have been a number of historically correct homes that have been torn down, and I have never seen anything like this, ever,” Perry-Miller mentioned.

She mentioned the demolished home had only a few unique architectural options final.

“We believe in historical preservation; the house in question was not historically correct,” Perry-Miller mentioned. “I think a lot of people on the block are new to the block, and they don’t understand, they don’t care, or they just don’t know the history of the home.”

Weekend fears

The weekend earlier than the demolition, Samei noticed a post from Preservation Park Cities on Instagram promoting a block party held Aug. 20 by means of neighbors to specific their opposition.

She was once alarmed by means of one remark at the post that requested “hypothetically” the best way to “decommission a big mechanical thing.”

Samei mentioned she referred to as the police to tell them of the development, informed them she felt unsafe and requested for coverage. She additionally mentioned that on Aug. 19, when her contractor was once seeking to put a backhoe up, neighbors blocked it and wouldn’t let it onto the valuables.

During the celebration, an officer informed some of the neighbors to stick at the sidewalk as a result of there wasn’t a right kind allow to near the road for a block celebration, consistent with an incident record from the Highland Park Department of Public Safety.

Samei parked in her driveway and watched to verify no person stepped on her belongings. The officer informed her not to have interaction with the block celebration individuals and to name the police if anyone entered the web site, consistent with the record.

The combat to keep

Preservation Park Cities had the Fairfax Avenue home designated as a landmark along with hundreds of other properties in Highland Park and University Park. The designation, which acknowledges each architecturally and traditionally vital properties, does now not legally forestall householders from demolishing their belongings.

The best strategy to legally give protection to a home can be via a deed restriction, mentioned Preservation Park Cities president Amy Beale.

“It was in poor shape but not beyond repair in our opinion,” Beale mentioned.

Highland Park, a the town of just below 9,000 citizens spanning simply over 2 sq. miles, has one of the most costly properties in the realm, many types of mansions, and is the place one of the greatest names in Dallas are living, together with Dallas Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones.

The space’s demolition comes after different properties in the group had been torn down, together with a neoclassical mansion on the nook of Eton Avenue and Beverly Drive at the end of 2021, Beale mentioned.

“That was the real catalyst for us. It wasn’t just teardowns. It was some of our most precious historic treasures,” she mentioned. “That was gravely concerning.”

Unlike the town of Dallas, which has ancient landmark districts akin to Swiss Avenue, Munger Place and Junius Heights, Highland Park does now not have ordinances to give protection to traditionally or architecturally vital properties.

In 2021, Preservation Park Cities began a separate marketing campaign that includes 100 of what it considers its most vital properties in the group. The group is making a espresso desk e book that includes them. The Fairfax Avenue home was once now not integrated at the checklist.

Beale mentioned the group had offered the highest 100 properties to Highland Park and University Park officers and that it was once warmly gained however there was once no indication that any motion can be taken. The checklist was once finished in 2022, however since then, the group has misplaced 3 of the homes at the checklist, consistent with Beale.

“The general idea was we can’t get anywhere with the city or the town; we are going to make it part of our culture to realize and educate people on how important these treasures are, that these are really the architectural pillars of our community,” she mentioned.

Melde, the preservation architect, mentioned the Fairfax home was once a just right instance of the preferred colonial revival taste of structure from the early twentieth century and had retained its architectural integrity.

“This house should have been rehabilitated,” he mentioned. “An addition to the back could have been compatibly designed to provide a contemporary lifestyle.”

Melde mentioned Preservation Park Cities is making an attempt to carry extra consciousness of the range and high quality of the group’s structure.

“It’s pretty much unlike any other place in Texas really, and it’s eroding so quickly,” he mentioned, including that it was once encouraging that the community was once disenchanted about dropping the development. “Collectively, these houses are very important to the Park Cities.”