The demolition of a state-owned historic home next to the Governor's Mansion has neighborhood activists up in arms.
Various community council members and local and state elected officials are protesting the state's decision to demolish the brick house at 30 G St. just north of the mansion. "Isn't it an abuse of that authority to demolish the house without considering what is best for the neighborhood?" asked John Sittner, former president of the Greater Avenues Community Council.But state officials say the structure, built near the turn of the century, must come down because of security risks to the governor, his staff and visitors, and because it's run down. And the wrecking ball will fall in the next few days if a solution isn't reached.
In the early 1980s, the FBI and Secret Service wrote a report that outlined risks posed by the house, said Richard Byfield, director of the state Division of Facilities Construction and Management. The most significant risk involved the position of the upstairs window on the house's south side, which has a direct sight line to the west and back doors of the Governor's Mansion. In other words, someone with a gun would have an easy target from that position, Byfield said.
For that reason, the state bought the structure in 1983. The division is now following a long history of state decisions to get rid of the house, Byfield said. Neighbors' requests to use the house for a state purpose aren't feasible because of the costs of rehabilitation. There are steps up to the door and no elevator to the top floor, he said. "Frankly, if you have to have a building there, it's better to build a brand new building."
This kind of attitude makes some in the neighborhood furious.
Sittner and others received final word last week of the house's imminent demise, and a salvager began removing the wrought-iron fence, fireplace and tile Saturday. He says the real reason for demolishing the house is to increase the size of the parking lot adjacent to the Governor's Mansion. He points out that several houses in the neighborhood have direct sight lines to the mansion and that if the house is run-down, it's the state's own fault.
"The only reason it has fallen into disrepair is because of the intentional neglect by its owner," he said.
City Councilman Tom Rogan, state Rep. Ralph Becker, state Sen. Paula Julander and several others joined Sittner in a press conference Wednesday in an attempt to stop the house's demolition.
The Greater Avenues Community Council was first informed last summer that the house would be demolished. When council members protested, the state backed off, saying it would contribute to renovation or moving of the house. But Sittner and others say they never had a chance to follow through with that promise, with facilities construction division people calling meetings hastily and not including all parties of interest.
Byfield said the state has made repeated efforts to meet with all parties. "The thing that's of concern from my perspective is that people have indicated there are two buyers that would buy the house," Byfield said, but the state has heard no concrete proposals.
With discussions moribund, the state decided to go back to plan A. "A year's gone by and we need to move forward," Byfield said.
Gov. Mike Leavitt was the subject of frequent attack during the press conference, with participants saying he, as the ultimate party responsible for the facilities construction division, has failed in his duty of communicating with constituents.
"He has not been a community builder," Rogan said. "He has been a community destroyer. . . . The people in our community made a big mistake: They trusted the governor."
That's unfair, Byfield said. Other governors have weighed in on this decision as have other community councils. "This is not a situation where the governor has called me up and said 'Let's remove the house.' "
Byfield said the action is part of a wider effort to make all state buildings more secure.
"I have concerns, as an architect, that facilities and buildings not be torn down particularly when they are critical and important in terms of neighborhood and type of construction," he said. "My difficulty is in trying to balance the equation for the Governor's Mansion."