C.1.3 - 1104 Toyath St - 9.27.2021 HLC Backup — original pdf
Backup
From: Sent: To: Subject: Mary Reed Thursday, April 15, 2021 4:19 AM Luis Zaragoza Re: Clarifying something Aubrey told you yesterday Hi Luis: The CCDC board of directors has given me permission to send the members of the HLC and staff an email indicating that although our preference of course is for 1104 Toyath to be rehabilitated so that it can remain a contributing structure in the Clarksville NRHD, we will not oppose Pardisa's demolition application. We will not oppose because Paradisa Homes heard the concerns we expressed about its original plans and as a result, designed a totally new house that is far more appropriate for Clarksville. I will send the email this week. Mary MR•PR Austin, TX 78703 Be Kind "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." MLK On Mon, Apr 12, 2021 at 7:33 PM Luis Zaragoza Mary, I'd like to submit to you a proposal to keep the existing form of the front facade. All materials would be new. We'll want to use as much of the original flooring as possible as well. The existing home is located inside the 25' front setback, (approx. 15') so we'd need to move the house regardless. I hope this is something you and your team are agreeable to. We would very much like to reach a decision before the HLC meeting this month, which we are on schedule for, so please let me know if you would like to hop on a call this week to discuss. wrote: 1 To help protect y our priv acy , Micro so ft Office prev ented auto matic download of this pictu re from the In ternet. On Fri, Apr 2, 2021 at 4:04 PM Luis Zaragoza Good Afternoon Mary, Thanks for the information. We expect to have an elevation for you to review within the next couple of weeks, and we're interested in re-using some of the original flooring so thanks for the tip. Have a great weekend. wrote: 2 To help protect y our priv acy , Micro so ft Office prev ented auto matic download of this pictu re from the In ternet. wrote: On Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 5:33 AM Mary Reed Hi Luis: I spoke with Aubrey yesterday after your meeting. He mentioned that he had told you that he thought that the exterior siding on 1104 Toyath was not original. However I am 99% sure that he is incorrect. I say that because there have been two Clarksville historic resource surveys done over the past 15 or so years -- one by the COA and one by a historic preservationist hired by the CCDC. In both cases, 1104 was classified as an intact historically contributing house. "Intact" means no alterations have been made to the exterior since the property was built. In other words, there is no new siding covering up old siding. However, what is there now could certainly be painted a new color/s. Also, I don't know if you have been inside, but from what I understand, the original wood floors remain. I know that Aubrey promised to share with you some addresses in the neighborhood where a modern addition was added on to the back of an old house. He and I talked about some of those addresses yesterday and I will share with him a few more that I thought of last night. My Best, Mary Mary Reed MR•PR Austin, TX 78703 Be Kind "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." MLK 3 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged Mary Reed Thursday, September 23, 2021 10:33 AM Myers, Terri - BC; t BC; Koch, Kevin - BC; Valenzuela, Sarah - BC; Tollett, Blake - BC; Wright, Caroline - BC; Little, Kelly - BC; Jacob, Mathew - BC; McWhorter, Trey - BC; Featherston, Witt PAZ Preservation; Olivia B. Ruiz Setting the record straight ; Heimsath, Ben - BC; Papavasiliou, Alexander - *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** It is my understanding that Paradisa Homes claims the Clarksville Community Development Corporation (CCDC) gave its "seal of approval" to the company's plans for 1104 Toyath Street (Item C.3 on the HLC's August 27th agenda). That is not completely accurate. As background: On March 16th of this year, Aubrey Carter, Gregory Tran and I ‐‐ all CCDC board members ‐‐ met via Zoom with Luis Zaragoza, a representative of Paradisa Homes, after we learned that the company had applied to demolish the historically contributing home located at that address. Although we wanted Paradisa to rehabilitate the home, we knew that was unlikely to happen because the company is in the home building business. Also, we recognized that given Austin's current historic preservation ordinance, it was highly unlikely that 1104 Toyath would be zoned historic against the wishes of the owner. Therefore our goal during the meeting was to make the new home Paradisa planned to build as unobjectionable as possible. In other words, we wanted to do damage control. At the meeting, Mr. Zaragoza shared a drawing of the front of the home Paradisa planned to build. It appeared to be 2‐ stories with a large front porch and a double garage facing the street. The home's front facade was made of board and batten siding, like many Clarksville homes. (We were happy about that and about the size of the porch.) I don't remember everything we talked about given that the meeting took place 6 months ago, but I do know that we asked Luis to move the garage to the back of the house, which Paradisa did. Once we saw a drawing of the house that reflected this change, we told Luis that we would not fight the demo. Then last month, we learned that in fact, the home Paradisa wants to build will be 3‐stories with a roof deck!!! A very different house than was depicted in the drawing we saw in March. If built, the new home will loom over other homes on the street, including the historic Lawson House next door, and the roof deck will destroy the privacy of adjacent neighbors, including several homes in the 1800 block of West 11th whose backyards abut the backyard of 1104 Toyath. The proposed home is a behemoth that does not respect the traditional size and scale of Clarksville homes. This is why I spoke against Pardisa's plans at the HLC's August meeting and asked the Commission to delay releasing the building permit. I was not reneging on a "deal" that the CCDC made with Paradisa in March. I was responding to new information. Note: I suggested to Mr. Zaragoza after that meeting that Paradisa meet with the HLC's Architectural Review Committee. To their credit, they did and Mr. Zaragoza says that they are in the process of revising their plans. The CCDC and neighbors in the 1100 block of Toyath are eagerly awaiting them. Mary Reed President, Clarksville Community Development Corporation 1 MR•PR Austin, TX 78703 Be Kind "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." MLK CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 2 C.3. HR-2021-115725, 1104 Toyath My name is Mary Reed and I am speaking on behalf of the Clarksville Community Development Corporation (CCDC) as its board president. We object to the plans for the new home Paradisa Homes wants to build at 1104 Toyath because it’s incompatible with other homes on the street and with the mass and scale of traditional Clarksville architecture. Aside from the board and batten siding, Paradisa seems to have assumed that the kind of home it builds in other neighborhoods, mostly non-historic neighborhoods from what we can tell by visiting the company’s website, would be appropriate for Clarksville. Paradisa Homes also appears to have overlooked the impact of their home’s height on its neighbors and especially on the Lawson House, the landmarked home next door. It will loom over that house. Furthermore, the roof deck ensures that the next door neighbors on Toyath as well as several neighbors in the 1800 block of West 11th whose backyards abut the back yard of 1104, will lose their privacy. We would like Paradisa go back to the drawing board and design a home more fitting for Clarksville and for the 1100 block of Toyath in particular. Thank you.