B-13 (C14H-2021-0164 - Chrysler Air-Temp House; District 7).pdf — original pdf
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ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET August 23, 2021 HLC DATE: July 26, 2021 ZAP DATE: November 2, 2021 December 7, 2021 CASE NUMBER: C14H-2021-0164 APPLICANT: Historic Landmark Commission HISTORIC NAME: Chrysler Air-Temp House COUNCIL DISTRICT: 7 WATERSHED: Shoal Creek ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 2502 Park View Drive ZONING FROM: SF-2 to SF-2-H SUMMARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the proposed zoning change from single family residence – standard lot (SF-2) district to single family residence – standard lot – Historic Landmark (SF-2-H) combining district zoning if the Commission believes that this house qualifies as a historic landmark and represents the entire proposed historic district. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: Architecture, historical significance, community value. HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION ACTION: July 26, 2021: Initiated historic zoning. August 23, 2021: Recommended historic zoning. Vote: 9-0 (Larosche and Tollett absent). ZONING and PLATTING COMMISSION ACTION: November 2, 2021: Postponed to December 7, 2921 at applicant’s request. DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The house is beyond the bounds of the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey (1984) but is contributing to the identified Air Conditioned Village National Register Historic District, which was unfortunately not recommended by the State Board of Review. This case came before the Commission in June, 2020 for a full demolition. The applicant in the 2020 case reconsidered their application for full demolition and submitted plans for a partial demolition and retention of the character-defining features of this house; those plans were reviewed and approved by the Commission. The prior proposal would have preserved much of the street façade of the house, replacing deteriorated materials in kind or with a visually-compatible modern material, and an addition to the back in what promised to be a sensitive rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the house. The Commission initiated historic zoning on the house during the pendency of the preparation of those plans, and satisfied that the plans would preserve the character of the house, dropped the historic zoning case. Since that time, the original applicants sold the house to the current applicant, who is seeking a permit to demolish the house and build a new house in its place. This house, being remarkably intact from the time of its construction, would have been contributing to the Air-Conditioned Village National Register Historic District, presented to 1 of 8B-13 2 the State Board of Renew earlier this month. There was owner opposition to the creation of the district and the nomination failed to move forward. However, this disappointing setback had little to do with the significance of Austin’s Air Conditioned Village experiment, and this house would have been one of the best preserved examples of the houses built and studied. ACTION: PHONE: 974-6454 ORDINANCE NUMBER: CITY COUNCIL DATE: ORDINANCE READINGS: 1ST 2ND 3RD CASE MANAGER: Steve Sadowsky NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: Allandale Neighborhood Association, Austin Independent School District, Austin Lost and Found Pets, Austin Neighborhoods Council, Central Austin Urbanists, Friends of Austin Neighborhoods, Homeless Neighborhood Association, Lower District 7 Green, NW Austin Neighbors, Neighborhood Empowerment Foundation, North Austin Neighborhood Alliance, SELTexas, Shoal Creek Conservancy, Sierra Club, Austin Regional Group BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION: Architecture: One-story, rectangular -plan, shallow front-gabled mid-century Modern-styled wood frame house with rectangular asbestos panels set into a metal framing system on the front and back, and wood siding on secondary elevations. The house has fixed-sash and horizontal- sliding fenestration with a row of clerestory windows bridging the space between the asbestos panel section and the slightly-pitched roof, which is notable for its deep eaves. There is a pop-up, shed roofed section in the middle of the roof, that opens onto a side elevation. The house has a shed-roofed double carport with exposed beams and columns; the carport figures prominently into the impression of the house from the street and has ornamental brick walls, further identifying the house as an example of mid-century Modern design. Historical Associations and Community Value: The house is located in the “Air Conditioned Village” of northwest Austin, and would be contributing to a potential historic district encompassing the remaining homes of the 22 originally built as demonstration houses to study and promote the feasibility of central air conditioning in moderately-sized and moderately-priced homes. Austin’s Air Conditioned Village was one of and the largest of several demonstration projects throughout the country in the early 1950s, at a time when central air conditioning was more common in commercial buildings and high-end residences, than in more modest houses, mostly due to the cost of installation. The National Association of Home Builders sponsored the construction of Austin’s Air Conditioned Village in 1953 as a new subdivision just west of Burnet Road in the northwestern part of the city. The next year, 22 homes were built to appeal to middle- class taste and budgets, in varying styles, but all with central air conditioning furnished by several manufacturers, including Chrysler, which provided the air conditioning for this house at 2502 Park View Drive. This house was known as the Chrysler “Air-Temp” House, and was designed by local architect Fred Day, who had been associated with several of the leading architectural firms in the city, including Fehr and Granger, noted for their mid-century Modern designs. The house was built by Wayne A. Burns, the developer of the Edgewood Subdivision, which encompassed the Air Conditioned Village. The Air Conditioned Village was a novel concept, and was part economic feasibility study and part social study. Homes in the Air Conditioned Village were all moderately-sized, but typical for middle class neighborhoods in Austin at the time. Some were designed and constructed with notable architectural features, such as the asbestos panels making up the front wall of this house, as well as the use of clerestory windows, perforated brick, and other materials and design features that came into vogue after World War II. They were all brand new 2 of 8B-13 3 homes, and priced for sale to middle class families. The first owner of the house at 2502 Park View Drive was a military man, William C. Davis, and his wife, Fern. Davis was in the U.S. Air Force and lived in this house from the time of its construction until around 1958. There is very little information about the Davis family, such as whether they had children, but they seem to be typical of the desired demographic for purchasers of houses in the Air Conditioned Village. The 1959 city directory shows this house occupied by Jerrold and Nancy R. Kelly; he was the chief engineer for the Tips Iron and Steel Company, at 300 Baylor Street. The Kelly’s lived in this house until very recently. Researchers studied air conditioning usage by the families to determine the efficiency and cost-benefit ratios of central air conditioning on a modest residential scale, making this a form of social study as well. The research included comparisons of energy costs, determining whether central air conditioning made sense for a typical middle-class budget, and looking at peak usage times and the demands on the city’s electrical grid. Further, the Air Conditioned Village experiment in Austin was instrumental in shaping FHA policies for home loans well past the post-World War II building boom. The homes in Austin’s Air Conditioned Village demonstrated that central air conditioning was indeed feasible for use in modest residential buildings, laying the groundwork for the development of modern air conditioning systems as essential for homes in warm climates. Using the data provided by the houses in the Air Conditioned Village, contractors and manufacturers developed systems for new and existing homes throughout the city and country. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The house is an excellent and remarkably intact example of architect-designed mid-century Modern architecture, with the use of modern materials, such as the asbestos panels on the front and back of the house, the deep eaves to shade the house, the clerestory windows to provide additional light into the interior, and the bold statement of the columns and beams of the house and its attached double carport. The house reflects the basic tenets of mid-century Modern design and satisfies the criterion for architecture. b. Historical association. The house was built as a demonstration house for a national experiment to determine the feasibility of installing central air conditioning systems into a new middle-class residential design. While the owners of this house do not appear to have historical significance as would be typically evaluated under this criterion, the identity of the house as a demonstration project associated with the National Home Builders Association’s initiative to explore the feasibility of installing central air conditioning into homes for the middle class satisfies this criterion for significant historical associations. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The house is located in the Air Conditioned Village, an early 1950s subdivision, specifically designed to evaluate the feasibility of central air conditioning in moderately-sized and moderately-priced houses, thus pioneering the widespread use of central air conditioning in a residential application throughout Austin and the rest of the country. This house does possess a unique location and physical characteristics in its intact design that contribute to the image of the city and the neighborhood, satisfying the criterion for community value. 3 of 8B-13 4 e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. PARCEL NO.: 0234030616 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 17 BLK E EDGEWOOD SEC 2 ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX ABATEMENT: $5,239 (owner-occupied); city portion: $1,915. APPRAISED VALUE: $534,010 PRESENT USE: Residential CONDITION: Good PRESENT OWNERS: Cedar and Oak, Incorporated 13330 Galleria Circle Austin, Texas 78738 NOTE: TCAD records show that Cedar and Oak Incorporated sold the property to Hugh F. Corrigan in May, 2021. DATE BUILT: ca. 1954 ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS: None ORIGINAL OWNER(S): William C. and Fern Davis OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: None. LOCATION MAP 4 of 8B-13 5 5 of 8B-13 6 2502 Park View Drive (ca. 1954) 1954 photograph of the house when brand new 6 of 8B-13 7 Page from the Austin Association of Home Builders’ planbook showing the house at 2502 Park View Drive in Austin’s Air-Conditioned Village 7 of 8B-13 8 Advertisement for Chrysler AirTemp air conditioning and showing the model house at 2502 Park View Drive 8 of 8B-13 June 12, 2020 Emily Reed, Chair City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission Re: 2502 Park View Drive Dear Ms. Reed, Preservation Austin has been our city’s leading nonprofit voice for historic preservation since 1953. We write today to express our dismay at the proposed demolition of 2502 Park View Drive, located in Allandale’s Air Conditioned Village. We ask the Historic Landmark Commission to support historic zoning for this significant property in the areas of Architecture, Historical Associations, and Community Value. The Air Conditioned Village was built in 1954 to assess the cost-effectiveness and profitability of central air in middle-class housing. Twenty-three houses, each featuring air-conditioning systems from a different manufacturer, were sold to families who agreed to allow their homes and habits to be studied by University of Texas scientists. Austinite Ned Cole, an architect and head of the air-conditioning subcommittee of the National Association of Homes Builders, spearheaded the project, which was the first multi-home experiment of its kind worldwide. Local architects and builders designed each unique home with energy-saving design elements to test their effectiveness. These include window placement along north and south facades; trees, trellises, and overhangs; pale paint colors and white roofing materials to reflect sunlight. Architect Fred Day designed 2502 Park View Drive, known as “The Air Temp.” Energy-efficient features include south-facing orientation and a wide, low-pitched roof which extends nearly four feet beyond the home’s footprint on all sides. Distinctive brick screens, exposed roof beams, and its asymmetrical façade make this home one of the development’s most stylized examples of mid-century design. Day (1926-2014) was a recent graduate of the UT School of Architecture. He worked for Ned Cole and Fehr & Granger before establishing his own firms in the 1960s. Day merged with Jessen Jessen Millhouse Greeven & Crume to become Jessen, Inc. in 1969, and served as the firm’s principal and president until 1993. His distinguished career included numerous awards from AIA Austin and the Texas Society Architects. He was president of AIA Austin and awarded an honorary Life Membership on the UTSOA Advisory Council. His works include Austin’s Teacher Retirement System Building, Faulk Central Library, Austin Doctors Building, renovations to the UT Law School and Student Union, the Recreation and Convocation Center at St. Edwards University, the pro bono master plan and drawings for Laguna Gloria, and the Visitors Center at McDonald Observatory. According to his obituary: “An innovative designer, he often sought to include the work of skilled artisans to enrich and distinguish his projects. He also designed several custom residences in and around Austin whose owners still enjoy the beauty, comfort, craftsmanship and pride that those homes provide.” 2502 Park View Drive retains integrity as defined by the National Register of Historic Places and clearly conveys its historical significance. Preservation Austin believes the property meets the following criteria for historic zoning under Austin’s land development code: Architecture: - The house embodies the distinguishing characteristics of midcentury residential design. Its passive cooling strategies, now common practice today, are hallmarks of the era’s emphasis on site-specific design in response to local environments. This is a particularly fine example of a modest, but stylized, midcentury home for the middle class. The house exemplifies technological innovation in design and construction, with cutting-edge climate-control techniques shaped by the larger Air Conditioned Village experiment. This is an outstanding early work of Fred Day, an architect who significantly contributed to the development of the city. His involvement in this high-profile, and much-celebrated, project was an early victory in his 40-year career. - - Historical Associations: - - The Air Conditioned Village was an internationally-renowned experiment in building innovation and social science. Its success impacted the architecture and economics of air-conditioning for homebuilders and their middle-class audience. It demonstrated the psychological impacts of design and environment as well, with scientists studying inhabitants’ health and behavior – including moods, preference for hot or cold meals, hours of sleep per night, allergies and respiratory issues. Air-conditioning in everyday homes transformed the way Americans lived and interacted during the postwar era, and 2502 Park View Drive embodies these historical associations. Community Value: - The Air Conditioned Village is embedded in Austin’s identity. Native son, and midcentury innovator, Ned Cole convinced organizers to locate the project here because of Austin’s hot temperatures, booming Sun Belt economy, and proximity to the University of Texas, a prominent research institution. This beloved historic resource is part of Allandale’s cultural fabric and an irreplaceable hallmark of Austin’s significant postwar heritage. The Air Conditioned Village has seen too many demolitions, at a rapidly increased rate, over the past several years. Today only fifteen of the original twenty-three homes retain integrity, though a draft National Register nomination is underway with the support of advocates, neighbors, and our colleagues at Mid Tex Mod. Every loss brings us closer to losing any chance for a historic district to honor and protect these buildings. We urge the Historic Landmark Commission to consider taking action on this issue, and offer our support to help protect this irreplaceable piece of Austin’s history. Thank you for your service to our community. Lori Martin President July 25, 2021 City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission P.O. Box 1088 Austin, TX 78767 Re: 2502 Park View Drive, Austin, Texas Dear Historic Landmark Commissioners, Mid Tex Mod, the leading voice for the preservation of mid-century modern architecture in our region, submits this letter of opposition to the proposed demolition of the house at 2502 Park View Drive. As the Central Texas chapter of Docomomo US, Mid Tex Mod’s mission is to raise awareness of buildings, sites, neighborhoods, and landscapes of the modern movement and to advocate for their preservation, documentation, and sustained use. Mid Tex Mod strongly opposes the release of a demolition permit for 2502 Park View Drive. Our organization fully supports efforts to preserve this architecturally and historically significant residence and contributing resource to the potential Austin Air-Conditioned Village Historic District. The residence at 2502 Park View Drive represents one of twenty-two original test houses constructed in 1954 as part of the Austin Air-Conditioned Village. This community of modest ranch and contemporary- style homes in the Edgewood Subdivision of Austin served as an experimental research project conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and research partners, including the University of Texas at Austin, to assess the integration of central air conditioning in mid-priced suburban residences. Twenty-two houses, constructed by eighteen local homebuilders, incorporated different air- conditioning systems with a variety of building plans, orientations, and cladding materials to monitor the effectiveness and affordability of central air conditioning for the middle class. Monitoring of occupants for a period of one year, under the direction of the National Warm Air Heating and Air Conditioning Association’s Mobile Laboratory, documented residents’ experiences and daily habits with air-conditioned living. Ultimately, the testing results at the Austin Air-Conditioned Village demonstrated that the installation and operation of residential air conditioning could be achieved in modest houses at a reasonable cost, thereby influencing residential building and lending practices in the ensuing decades. 2502 Park View Drive, known as “The Air Temp” house, originally incorporated a Chrysler Air Temp air- conditioning system. Designed by local architect Fred Day and constructed by local builder Wayne A. Burns (developer of the Edgewood Subdivision), the contemporary-style house features low sloping roof lines; wide overhanging eaves; fixed, horizontal-sliding sash, and clerestory windows; a variety of cladding materials including asbestos, wood siding, and brick; a large carport; and patterned brick screening walls. The addition of a small utility room on the northwest side elevation below the carport roof reflects a single minor exterior alteration. The house retains a remarkably high degree of integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and feeling as the most distinctive and intact original residence within the Austin Air-Conditioned Village development. As such, 2502 Park View Drive is considered a contributing resource to the potential Austin Air- Conditioned Village Historic District. As a potential historic district, the Austin Air-Conditioned Village is significant at the national level under National Register Criterion A in the area of Engineering for its collaboration between leading air-conditioning manufacturers and the mid-twentieth-century homebuilding industry. The potential district is also significant at the local level under National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an early example of modest tract houses by prominent Austin-area builders incorporating air-conditioning technology. Mid Tex Mod has worked with the Allandale Neighborhood Association over the last three years to reevaluate the remaining original Austin Air-Conditioned Village residences and to support an interest in designation of the area as a National Register Historic District. Additionally, Mid Tex Mod finds that the house at 2502 Park View Drive meets the following criteria for individual local historic landmark designation: • High degree of architectural integrity as a distinctive example of a mid-twentieth-century contemporary-style ranch house • The most intact original residence remaining from the 1954 Austin Air-Conditioned Village Architecture development Historical Associations • National historical associations with burgeoning mid-twentieth-century residential air-conditioning • Local historical associations with modest, regional, mid-century residential design by local technology architects and home builders. Mid Tex Mod strongly opposes the demolition of the architecturally distinctive residence at 2502 Park View Drive. Our organization urges Austin’s Historic Preservation Office to pursue individual historic landmark designation to ensure the continued preservation and sustainability of this significant resource. Thank you for your time on this matter and for your service on this important commission. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at midtexasmod@gmail.com. Sincerely, Elizabeth Porterfield, President Mid Tex Mod Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Lynn Davidson Thursday, July 22, 2021 6:23 PM PAZ Preservation 2502 Park View Dr Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Please don’t let them demolish the house at 2502 Park View Drive. At least, make the developer (and that’s what he is) keep the footprint of the house as it is. He has built one mega mansion on our street and owns 2 more lots and an investor of his just bought the house at 2706 Park View Dr. He will build more mega mansions on those three lots, at least deny him the opportunity to do it to this historic air condition village house as well. Sent from my iPad 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged Isabel Henderson Thursday, July 22, 2021 9:54 PM PAZ Preservation; Little, Kelly - BC; Koch, Kevin - BC; Tollett, Blake - BC; Featherston, Witt; Heimsath, Ben - BC; Wright, Caroline - BC; Valenzuela, Sarah - BC; McWhorter, Trey - BC; Castillo, Anissa - BC; Larosche, Carl - BC; Myers, Terri - BC Demolition of 2502 Park View Drive - GF-21-103669 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hi! My name is Isabel Henderson and I'm a resident of Rosedale. I wanted to reach out about the proposed demolition of 2502 Park View Drive (Case GF‐21‐103669). This house is part of Austin's Air Conditioned Village and should be preserved as a historic house. It's a unique example of midcentury architecture and represents an attempt to combine design with what was cutting‐edge technology at the time (technology that contributed to the development of Austin, the state of Texas, and the Southwest). It's been devastating to watch the houses in this neighborhood be demolished, one after the other. Sometimes it seems that there are entire blocks that are in the process of being razed and rebuilt. We have a responsibility to maintain unique historic homes (such as 2502 Park View Drive) in Austin—or we will regret not doing so, years down the line. If we don't, neighborhoods like Allandale will lose their history and charm, and start to look like any other overdeveloped, cookie‐cutter neighborhood across America. Razing 2502 Park View Drive would be a blow not only to the neighborhood but also to the design/architectural community and archive. I cannot encourage you enough to designate this house as a historic landmark, and prevent its destruction. All the best, Isabel Henderson 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Maureen Carter Thursday, July 22, 2021 10:59 PM PAZ Preservation 2502 Park View Drive. Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** To Whom It May Concern: Please prevent the demolition of the piece of Austin history at 2502 Park View Drive. This great example of a home in the Air Conditioned Village should be preserved. This group of 22 homes in Allandale originally built as demonstration houses to study and promote the feasibility of central air conditioning in moderately‐sized and moderately‐priced homes is a treasure. Take care, Maureen C Carter 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Leslie Currens Friday, July 23, 2021 8:53 AM PAZ Preservation Re: case number GF-21-103669 Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Preservation Committee, In addition, an identical home has been willingly preserved by it's owners, so there is no need to force unwilling owners to preserve a home against their wishes. Here is the info on the identical home, as described on the Allandale email list: "We live in the ‘twin’ house to this one on Park View and we absolutely adore it. It is a perfect example of mid century modern architecture and we get so many compliments on how open and bright it is.... we knew we had to own this house and save it." On Fri, Jul 23, 2021 at 8:49 AM Leslie Currens Dear Preservation Committee, Regarding the Air conditioned village home, the home is uninteresting and poorly constructed. There is no need to preserve this house. Please allow these homeowners to do what they want with their property, to build a home that meets today's standards and needs, rather than forcing the preservation of a home that has little historic value and holds little interest for people today. Sincerely, Leslie Currens 5615 Bull Creek Rd, Austin, TX 78756 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. wrote: 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Marsha Edwards Friday, July 23, 2021 9:32 AM PAZ Preservation case number GF-21-103669 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** With regard to 2502 Park View Drive, case number GF-21-103669, I am very upset at the thought of demolition. It is the best-preserved example of the proposed Austin Air-Conditioned Village Historic District. A few years ago I was blessed to be a volunteer for a home tour of that District. And as I live in Allandale, I was most proud of the village right next door to me. I sincerely hope that you will initialize historic zoning, as this house meets the historic landmark designation criteria for architecture, historical associations, and community value. I understand that 2505 and 2507 Park View Drive have also been approved for demolition, and I oppose that also. Thanks, Marsha Edwards 6112 Bullard Dr. 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Donna Beth McCormick Friday, July 23, 2021 9:49 AM PAZ Preservation GF-21-103669. Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** I am a decades resident of Allandale ‐ since the 1960s. I am a multiple prperty owner. Do you know how many calls I get every week to buy my houses?? I am also a former president of Allandale Neighborhood Association (twice) and Board Member (4 years). What is going on in our neighborhood with the tear down of one story homes and the lot line to lot line two story no class boxes is awful. These houses that are being built now will not be here in 50 years like mine is. They are selling for over a million and within a few years will have more problems than you can imagine and be torn down. Austin was a very nice town and a town to be proud of ‐ but ‐ in the 1970s the Lege let City Hall make the decision of height downtown ‐ huge mistake. The two focal points of the city are the Capitol and the UT Tower ‐ neither of which you can see from most vantage points. Those high rises downtown will also not be here in 50 years ‐ they will be torn down and something else will go in ‐ worse. There is nothing wrong with history and preservation. Money is not always everything. Right now, a million doesn't get you anything in Austin. If these houses are torn down in years there will be regret and wonder why we can't reconstruct them! Save the history ‐ developers need to get a grip ‐ think about your legacy, that's all you have. Donna Beth McCormick ‐ 5703 Shoalwood Ave 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Carla Penny Friday, July 23, 2021 10:36 AM PAZ Preservation 2502 Park View GF-21-103669 Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Please save this house from demolition. I have lived in this neighborhood 29 years and deeply value the history of the mid‐century homes that give our community character. This home in particular has such important provenance that it would be an irreplaceable loss to Allandale and Austin we’re it to be destroyed. Carla Penny 2500 Albata Ave Austin, TX 78757 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Neena Husid Friday, July 23, 2021 11:02 AM PAZ Preservation 2502 Park View Drive *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Please, please, please stop developers from destroying the integrity of our Austin neighborhoods. This is a great house. I have long admired it and wondered how, if it ever went on the market, I might be able to buy it—to refurbish it, not steam shovel it into oblivion. Allandale is a tight enclave, chocked‐full of friends and neighbors deeply distressed over the systematic leveling of cherished mid‐century homes for cookie‐cutter, poorly built, price‐gouging new constructions. On our street alone there are three identical Paradiso homes priced well‐over a million dollars. Two of these homes have had significant construction issues and detract from the quaint beauty of the much‐loved older homes on the block. It seems to me a city that respects its roots should be working overtime to encourage revitalization to older neighborhoods rather than allowing for the destruction of its gems. Entice architects and builders into our neighborhood who would like nothing more than to help homeowners maintain the integrity of these historic homes. When history, particularly a unique community history, is diminished, caring neighbors and good citizens become apathetic strangers living in rows of uninviting, generic, over‐priced, houses. It’s a sad future and one I hope Austin can avoid. Thank you for listening, Neena Husid 2503 Ellise Avenue 78757 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Margaret Herman Friday, July 23, 2021 11:44 AM PAZ Preservation public comment re: 2502 Park View Drive *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, I'd like to submit a comment on the proposal to demolish 2502 Park View Drive being discussed at your July 26th meeting. My name is Margaret Herman, and I work at a historic preservation agency in New York City (writing today for myself as an individual). I happen to be a former resident of Allandale ‐ my family moved into a house a few streets over from 2502 Park View Drive in the 1980s when I was a young child, and my mother still resides there today. As longtime residents of the neighborhood and for myself as an architectural historian, we both strongly oppose this proposal for demolition. I recently became aware of the proposed National Register nomination for Allandale's Air‐Conditioned Village, of which this property at 2502 Park View Drive is an essential piece. Referred to as the "Chrysler Air Temp Home," it retains a high degree of integrity to its period of significance during the air‐conditioning tests, and its paneled facade and window pattern, its perforated brick screens, and overhanging roof line continue to express the story of Allandale's role in the history of mid‐20th century HVAC engineering and modern architecture in the southwestern United States. Local residents such as my mother are supportive of efforts to preserve the low‐slung 1950s ranch homes of Allandale, many on large lots with mature trees, which contribute to its distinct sense of place and have made it such a beautiful community to raise their families. Now that the historical significance of 2502 Park View Drive and the Air‐Conditioned Village project as a whole has come to light, there's a new level of pride in the neighborhood. Please prevent this demolition from occurring. Surely there are preservation‐minded ways to repair/rehab the house while retaining its historic fabric so that residents in the future can be reminded of the house's and the historic district's importance. Best Regards, Margaret E. Herman, Ph.D. 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. 1 Historical Commission Case: GF 21-103669 July 26th 2502 Park View Dr Joseph Reynolds 2611 West 49th Member Allandale Zoning Committee Commissioners, I’m writing to Oppose the demolition permit issued for 2502 Park View. The owner/applicant knew of the historic nature of the property when it was purchased. They communicated with the seller. The permit was issued by mistake, due to confusion with other property owned in 2500 block of Park View. Finally, 2502 Park View was one of the experimental houses used to determine how residences could/should be air-conditioned. The experiment was to try various ways to install air conditioning, to determine what life effects it would have, to measure the electricity used to cool the houses - A/C was a change that resulted in housing booms in hot climate. Let me share my perspective. First, I have experience with experimental housing. During the mid-1960s I was leading a software effort at Tracor [Austin’s first ‘technology’ star and first ‘native’ Fortune-500 company] to use computer graphics to show what a future house would look like when inside/outside. At the time architects drew sketches of a building, and made detail ‘mechanical drawings’ of the structural elements. The computer graphics would be a big improvement over just showing a client plan-view drawings, and much cheaper than the sketches, or cardboard models in use. Computer graphics could be interactive. Tracor had professors from UT Architecture School consulting. That work got me involved in a 1969-1970 project called Ice City. Life-size experimental buildings were more useful than cardboard models, and could have ‘organic’ shapes. But, they needed to be discarded, and that was expensive disposal. So, Ice City would build the life-size models from ice-foam, which would just melt when the weather warmed. In 1970 we were doing what is now called 3-D Printing, but on a life-size scale. We also worked on ‘responsive rooms’ which was an attempt to have the building support activity occurring inside. We built instrumented rooms at what is now part of the Pickle Research center. My second perspective is that I’m old enough to have lived ‘before’ and ‘after’ air- conditioning. I was born December 1941. Our milkman in Dallas drove a horse-cart to deliver. By 1945 mom had a Servel brand ‘gas’ refrigerator; a little ‘pilot flame’ 1 Historical Commission Case: GF 21-103669 July 26th 2502 Park View Dr Joseph Reynolds 2611 West 49th Member Allandale Zoning Committee heated a bubble pump that compressed the refrigerant. To cool the house there was a big fan in the ceiling of the hallway that sucked air in through the windows, and blew it out through the attic. The only cool buildings were department stores and movie theatres. Some still blew air across blocks of ice to cool it. That’s why air-conditioning capacity was once measured in ‘tons’ [or tons per hour]. The stores and theatres [like the Majestic and Palace in Dallas] used an ammonia refrigerant and water towers to cool it for condensing back to liquid. None of that would work for houses. My dad worked at the Magnolia Building in downtown Dallas [It had the “Flying Red Horse” on top.] when it was air-conditioned and they had to find ways to get air ducts through the masonry walls. Our current house on 49th St was built in 1951, and when we bought it in 1979 still had the floor-furnace for heat and had three window A/C to cool. The 1981 Memorial Day Flood got water in the crawl space under the house and killed the floor furnace. As a result of the flooding we couldn’t replace it, so the house got ‘central’ A/C. Our ducts went into the attic, but the house just next door had ducts in the crawl space. All the ‘How-To’ for domestic central air-conditioning was worked out in the different designs of The Air-Conditioned Village. And, they didn’t do an Ice-City on the ‘experimental’ houses – families lived there and kept them. That’s what you’re being asked to preserve. The houses, their purpose, and their past are what you are asked preserve. They are Historical. I ask that you deny the Demolition. Let the owner put Pflugerville Castles on the other lots they own. Thank You – Joe Reynolds Joe-rey@texas.net 2 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Friday, July 23, 2021 4:17 PM PAZ Preservation RE: case number GF-21-103669 , 2502 Park View Drive *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** I will not be able to attend this hearing remotely, so this is my comment to be included in the hearing as backup. This house is an architectural treasure as an example of mid century modern style by Fred Day, a renowned Architect in Austin with a legacy of design excellence. I believe the community and the developer would be better served if there were compromises made in return for preservation of this structure. These could include density bonuses or development incentives that would allow more intensive use of the land. The existing house could be an ADU to a multi‐ unit development that would save the house, increase the density, and add tax base to the City tax roll, win‐win‐win. I hope that the developer and the preservation board takes this into consideration in the spirit of compromise that works to the advantage of all parties. Mac Ragsdale, AIA From: Sent: Friday, July 23, 2021 4:02 PM To: preservation@austintexas.gov Subject: case number GF‐21‐103669 , 2502 Park View Drive I would like to speak in favor of preserving this architectural treasure, and encourage that the City provide incentives to the developers in the way of density bonuses or other methods to encourage them. Mac Ragsdale, AIA 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: John Tate Saturday, July 24, 2021 1:35 PM PAZ Preservation Carolyn Croom Supporting preservation of 2502 PARK VIEW DRIVE (GF-21-103669) *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** To the Members of the Historic Landmark Commission: I support preservation of the existing house at 2502 Park View Drive. The staff analysis and letters from Elizabeth Porterfield of Mid Tex Mod and Lori Martin of Preservation Austin agree that the house meets several of the criteria for historic status. The residence is an excellent early work of local architect, Fred Day, who designed a number of other iconic Austin buildings. In addition, a National Register Historic District designation is underway for the Austin Air‐ Conditioned Village, and this is the best existing example of the buildings from that project. My wife and I enjoy seeing this house and others that were part of the Austin Air‐Conditioned Village on our walks around the neighborhood, and we enjoyed the historic tour presented by Mid Tex Mod a couple of years ago. We need to preserve buildings such as this one, whose historical value rests on their intrinsic quality and their impact on society, and not solely on what famous person lived there. Please vote to preserve 2502 Park View Drive. Thank you for your kind attention. John Tate 2502 Albata Avenue Austin, Texas 78757 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Carolyn Croom < Saturday, July 24, 2021 6:43 PM PAZ Preservation; Little, Kelly - BC; Koch, Kevin - BC; Tollett, Blake - BC; Featherston, Witt; Heimsath, Ben - BC; Wright, Caroline - BC; Valenzuela, Sarah - BC; McWhorter, Trey - BC; Castillo, Anissa - BC; Larosche, Carl - BC; Myers, Terri - BC Concerning 2502 PARK VIEW DRIVE (GF-21-103669) *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Members of the Historic Landmark Commission, I oppose the demolition of the architecturally and historically significant house at 2502 Park View Drive. In attending the talk and the tour of the Air Conditioned Village offered by Mid Tex Mod, I learned that it is the best-preserved example of the proposed Austin Air-Conditioned Village Historic District. Mid Tex Mod and Preservation Austin’s letters from last year’s hearing strongly opposing this demolition are compelling. This outstanding, remarkably‐intact, mid‐century residence with passive cooling strategies and innovative technological design and construction is very much a part of Austin’s history and culture. Austinite Ned Cole convinced organizers to locate this significant experiment appropriately in Austin, with our hot climate. The residence is an excellent early work of local architect, Fred Day, who made significant contributions to Austin’s development. A National Register Historic District designation is underway for the Austin Air‐Conditioned Village, and the best example of this project should be preserved. I implore the applicant to take responsibility for this treasure and rise to the occasion and work with city staff to preserve the important features of the house. Short of that, I ask you to please vote for the preservation of 2502 Park View Drive. Let’s preserve this unique gem for our Central Texas community. Sincerely, Carolyn Croom 2502 Albata Avenue Austin, Texas 78757 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Cynthia Keohane Saturday, July 24, 2021 7:40 PM PAZ Preservation; Little, Kelly - BC; Koch, Kevin - BC; Tollett, Blake - BC; Featherston, Witt; Heimsath, Ben - BC; Wright, Caroline - BC; Valenzuela, Sarah - BC; McWhorter, Trey - BC; Castillo, Anissa - BC; Larosche, Carl - BC; Myers, Terri - BC Air Conditioned Village - 2502 Park View Drive - GF-21-103669 - opposing the request *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission: Please do all you can to preserve this historically and architecturally significant home, as well as other Air Conditioned Village homes at risk of demolition. As a former President of Allandale Neighborhood Association, and an Allandale homeowner within a mile from this home, I attended the Mid Tex Mod's Air Conditioned Village program a few years ago. It's clear that this represents history worthy of saving. I wrote to you last year opposing HDP-2020-0214 for 2502 Park View and the matter appeared to have been settled amicably. I'm sorry to see this home threatened again. Please vote to preserve this landmark. All the best, Cynthia Keohane 5702 Wynona Avenue 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. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Nathalie Frensley Sunday, July 25, 2021 11:51 AM PAZ Preservation GF-21-103669, 2502 Park View Drive *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Re: GF‐21‐103669, 2502 Park View Drive (Air Conditioned Village) I write to urge Commissioners to follow staff recommendations to preserve 2502 Park View Drive and prevent its demolition. I wholly concur with staff reasoning to preserve, in their case report about 2502 Park View: “Strongly encourage the applicant to reconsider his application for total demolition by initiating historic zoning, as this house meets the historic landmark designation criteria for architecture, historical associations, and community value. This house is one of the premier examples of mid‐century Modern architecture in the Air Conditioned Village, a proposed historic district, and every effort should be made to preserve the integrity of the house and historic district. The importance of Austin’s Air Conditioned Village in the broader theme of residential climate control for the middle‐ class families in the Sunbelt was perhaps understated in the first set of public hearings on this case, but Austin’s experiment set the stage for similar projects in other areas of the country, and was a significant and determining factor in the development of the American Southwest.” Please preserve part of Austin’s history. Sincerely, Nathalie Frensley ‐‐ Nathalie J. Frensley, Ph.D. 5601 Montview Street, Austin, TX 78756 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. 1 X Jackson Roche 6602 Nasco Drive, Austin, TX 78757 July 25, 2021 From: Carolyn Croom < Subject: Re: Concerning 2502 Park View Drive (C14H-2021-0164) Date: November 28, 2021 at 11:08:29 PM CST To: BC-Nadia.Ramirez@austintexas.gov, bc-Hank.Smith@austintexas.gov, bc- Jolene.Kiolbassa@austintexas.gov, BC-David.King@austintexas.gov, BC- Timothy.Bray@austintexas.gov, bc-Betsy.Greenberg@austintexas.gov, bc- Ann.Denkler@austintexas.gov, BC-Cesar.Acosta@austintexas.gov, bc- roy.woody@austintexas.gov, BC-Carrie.Thompson@austintexas.gov, bc- Scott.Boone@austintexas.gov Sorry, I meant to include the photo and drawing from 1954 below!: On Nov 28, 2021, at 11:04 PM, Carolyn Croom <cbcroom@sbcglobal.net> wrote: Dear Members of the Zoning and Platting Commission, 2502 Park View Drive is an exceptional house that should be preserved for posterity. Below are reasons to support Local Historic Landmark designation for this home: Part of internationally-known Austin Air-Conditioned Village. The Austin Air-Conditioned Village was the first large-scale experiment of its kind worldwide. It was the largest study of houses built in the 1950s to determine the feasibility and affordability of air-conditioning in homes affordable to middle-class buyers. This experiment shaped how houses were built nationwide from the 1950s on, by taking good design into consideration to reduce energy consumption, and had a particularly large impact on the Sun Belt. According to Preservation Austin, in comments to the Historic Landmark Commission, the Air-Conditioned Village was not only a nationally-significant study but also "an internationally-renowned experiment in building innovation and social science.” One example of its international impact is that a group of housing experts from the Soviet Union visited this project during the Cold War. The homes had different air-conditioning systems and had extensive technical testing as well as an analysis of cost. UT’s Psychology Department surveyed the inhabitants of the Village houses and area houses without air- conditioning, comparing the daily habits of both groups, finding that the Village families slept more, spent more time inside their homes and had to clean less than the other group. UT’s Departments of Architectural Engineering and Mechanical Engineering were also heavily involved, analyzing data, and conducting further research. Two national trade organizations, many national manufacturers, architects, homebuilders, and homeowners helped establish the feasibility of air-conditioning in modest homes. This study encouraged the adoption of air- conditioning in not just luxury homes, but smaller homes, and influenced the loan policies of FHA and other lenders, by including the cost of air-conditioning equipment in loans and removing stipulations that higher salaries were required to purchase homes with air-conditioning. Early, outstanding example of architect Fred Day. Mr. Day made a substantial contribution to Austin’s development and this superb home from the beginning of his career should be preserved. According to Preservation Austin, his "involvement in this high-profile, and much celebrated project was an early victory in his 40-year career.” A graduate of the UT School of Architecture, his contributions include the award-winning Faulk Central Library, the Teachers Retirement System of Texas building, the Austin Doctors Building, the pro-bono master plan and drawings for Laguna Gloria, the UT Alumni Center, and renovations to the UT Law School and Student Union. Notable buildings he designed outside Austin include the Visitors Center at the McDonald Observatory and the Hooper-Schaeffer Fine Arts Center at Baylor University. He was president of AIA Austin and awarded an honorary Life Membership on the UT School of Architecture Advisory Council. An endowed scholarship in architecture at UT bears his name. He won multiple design awards from the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Texas Society of Architects. Most architecturally-significant home in the Austin Air-Conditioned Village. 2502 Park View, known as “The Air Temp” House for its Chrysler AirTemp air-conditioning system, is definitely the most modern in its design of the Air-Conditioned Village houses. It’s closest to the International Style of architecture and Arts & Architecture magazine’s Case Study houses, with a nearly flat roof and a very simple, clean execution. Other elements of mid-century design in this innovative house include site-specific passive cooling strategies, high clerestory windows to reduce heat load, exposed roof beams, an asymmetrical, paneled facade, and distinctive patterned-brick screening walls. Mid Tex Mod, in its letter to the Historic Landmark Commission, states that the home “retains a remarkably high degree of integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and feeling as the most distinctive and intact original residence within the Austin Air-Conditioned Village development.” Fred Day produced a striking Modern residence, as opposed to other more conventional ranch homes in the project. While Fred Day’s residence stands out architecturally, the whole development brought together prominent homebuilders and architects who played a valuable role in Austin’s development. City of Austin staff and the Historic Landmark Commission strongly support preservation. City staff strongly recommends historic zoning for 2502 Park View, as it not only meets but exceeds the following criteria for designation as an Historic Landmark: architecture, historical association, and community value. It is also remarkably intact. It’s not common for a building to meet three criteria instead of two, or for all three criteria to be strong. The Historic Landmark Commission voted unanimously to recommend it for Local Historic Landmark designation. Our City, a recognized leader in green building, should find value in preserving a home in an early study on innovative cooling design. Austin has played a trailblazing role in the green building movement, creating the nation’s first green building program. The houses in the Air-Conditioned Village experiment are an early effort at energy-efficient design, in an attempt to make air-conditioning affordable. They exemplify technological innovation in design and construction, with cutting-edge climate- control techniques. Each had experimental air-conditioning systems with a variety of air-distribution systems. They shared several heat-reducing strategies as well, such as light paint, light roofing, generous overhangs, plantings and preservation of old-growth trees for shade, heat-absorbing glass, exhaust fans, wall and roof insulation, and passive solar design. Kitchen and bath exhaust fans and insulation were not common elements in homes then. Important to include modest-sized homes among Austin’s Historic Landmarks. At 1160 square feet, this small home with a big history well deserves a place among Austin’s historic mansions and public buildings. Austin should preserve the few historical structures our City has inherited. Austin is a relatively new city with fewer historic buildings compared with other older cities. That makes it all the more important to preserve the notable buildings that we do have. We preserve our cultural heritage through the preservation of historic places. 2502 Park View is a unique, stand-out home in the remarkable and ambitious Austin Air-Conditioned Village and is a important part of our cultural heritage. Without widespread air-conditioning, Austin and other Sun Belt communities wouldn’t be the cities they are today. A house such as this appears quite rarely, and our City should not miss the opportunity to preserve it. Thank you for considering the preservation of this architectural and historical gem. Sincerely, Carolyn Croom 2502 Albata Avenue Austin, TX 78757