HDC approves repair of Carriage Town houses

The Historic District Commission Aug. 4 unanimously approved certificates of appropriateness to allow work on houses in the Carriage Town Neighborhood.

The commission also heard about roof repairs at Spencer's Mortuary and discussed updating Flint's historic resource list.

John Shaw, Flint Neighborhood Improvement and Preservation Project, was approved to begin work on a house on 432 W. First Ave., which Flint NIPP plans to move to 428 W. First Ave. Shaw said the project planned to use all wood, Energy Star rated replacement windows on the Genesee County Land Bank property. The land bank requires Energy Star rated materials. Several windows will be changed from the original design to meet building code.

The house will have a new foundation built on the 428 W. First Ave. site (where the previous structure burnt down) and then the structure will be moved to the new site. The foundation will have a decorative split-face cement design. Because of the proximity to the Stone Street archaeological site, the property has to be placed in the exact footprint of 428 W. First Ave. An archaeological team will examine the 432 lot for Native American remains.

Commissioner Leanne Barkus reminded Shaw that the HDC is allowing Flint NIPP to change the streetscape because the three houses originally at 428 W. First St., 432 W. First St. and 434 W. First St., built during the 1910s boom of General Motors, were placed very close to each other without car space. She said they are allowing Flint NIPP to change the physical history of the sites. She said she has been chewed out by local historians because of this fact.

Because the program is funded by Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 federal money, the land bank will also provide appliances, air conditioning and landscaping for the property.

The property at 434 W. First Ave., on the corner of Grand Traverse, is another Flint NIPP project. They plan to remove the siding, open up an enclosed porch to expose the house's original facing and remove a non-functioning chimney. The duplex was originally built as a single-family home. Flint NIPP will bring the stairway to the second floor up to today's standards and will use all wood doors and windows.

The application was approved with the condition that if a second floor window is uncovered under the siding on the back of the house, it be used in the final design.

Bernice Bennett, representing her brother, applied to replace five wood porch columns and the roofs on 614-616 Mason St. Bennett was approved for a new roof in June 2010 but never issued a certificate of appropriateness. The commission approved the replacement of the porch columns, which were badly rotted on the bottom.

Ken France of Davison will manufacture, assemble and install five poplar wood replacement columns modeled after the originals. Bennett wanted to replace the building's flat rubber roof with another rubber roof. She also wanted to replace the front porch's sheet metal roof with a standing seam metal roof and the two back porches' asphalt roofs on the property with cedar shake shingles.

The applicant did not include pictures of the back porches in her presentation. Commissioners did not feel comfortable voting to approve the back porch roofs without pictures of the back of the property.

Bennett received approval to replace the main structure's rubber roof, but the porches were tabled until a representative of the roofing company, Lockhart Roofing, could explain why the house needed both metal and cedar roofs.

Hoffman's Deco Deli and Carriage Town Antique Center, 503 Garland St., got approval to place two temporary signs on the north side of the building. The signs will be hung in 2-inch brushed aluminum framing and will be attached to the walls by four grommets. The 4-foot by 3-foot signs will face University Avenue where the Jackson-Hardy House and UM-Flint Urban Alternatives House once stood.

Owner Nick Hoffman said the signs are only temporary. He plans to expand that side of the building in the next few years.

The commission approved his request with a stipulation that the signs will not stay on the building for more than two years.

President Tim Monahan, Carriage Town District Neighborhood Association, informed the commission that the CTDNA board of directors has voted to repair a roof leak at Spencer's Mortuary, 520 W. University Ave. The addition's roof has completely caved in, he said.

He will return to the HDC with a request to remove the freezer addition to the building and the cistern that is buried below it in September.

The Historic District Commission will attempt to update Flint's historic resource list soon. The list of sites has not been updated since 1992. The city hopes to hire an intern from UM-Flint or another local program in library sciences to begin compiling the list.

The HDC will meet next at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 2 in the Greg McKenzie Conference Room on the second floor of City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St.