The phone calls and texts started coming fast this weekend. Highland Park neighbors on Fairfax Ave. were angry and sad that another one of the homes that define the character of the Park Cities has a bulldozer parked out in front. The word on the street is that the landmarked home at 4415 Fairfax will be demolished by the time you read this.
Handmade signs began to appear on the block, and concerned neighbors started posting on social media in early August. Although several people attempted to reach out to the potential buyer to see if there could be a discussion about restoration, these attempts failed. It appears the $2.5 million house was never put into MLS. The word on the street is that the family received a letter with an all-cash offer and no contingencies.
As for impending demolition, a Single-Family Residence Permit has been applied for at Highland Park Town Hall, but at present, the permit log also shows that no permit has been issued at this address. A Highland Park building inspector told a neighbor that a demolition permit had been paid for, but the staff has to mark the permit as issued, which they will do sometime on Monday after 7:30 a.m. There seems to be a lag time between the issuance of permits and those permits appearing on the website, which of course is critical for anyone wanting to delay demolition.
The Highland Park Construction Management Policy, which is for Single-Family Residence Permits, states in Section 2.3 Public Notification: “The contractor is required to distribute a letter of construction notice to all residents within the disturbance area no later than ten (10) days prior to construction.“
No one on the block has received a letter from the contractor concerning this.
What is Happening in Highland Park?
Sunday morning, the neighborhood held what can only be called a wake for this venerable home, which according to reports, was once owned by the C.F. Hawn family. Locals gathered and celebrated the life of the home and discussed what more they could do to prevent future teardowns. They distributed informational flyers on this home and on what can be done in the future.
We are sorry to see this happen and wish a dialogue could have been had and a compromise reached before it reached this point, but the buyers would not engage in dialogue.
Fairfax neighbor
A Sad Day For Preservation Park Cities
Preservation Park Cities has been diligently working to promote awareness of the destruction of historic homes and has been gaining ground recently. In July, I spoke to incoming Preservation Park Cities president Amy Beale about the movement, and she said the wake-up call came when the Hal Thomson-designed home at 3800 Beverly Dr. was razed.
“It was a catalyst for Preservation Park Cities to become more visible and relevant in the community,” she said.
Christina Dandar of The Potted Boxwood noticed the momentum as the comments on her Instagram profile began to swell each time a home was endangered.
“The momentum is there,” Dandar said. “It’s now about education.”
That education includes several points. One is understanding the costs involved in preservation and that preserving is more economical than demolishing and rebuilding. It’s also more responsible. With ever-diminishing resources, it’s irresponsible to continue contributing to landfills. With no preservation laws in the Park Cities, homeowners can still turn to the law. They can include architectural deed restrictions and architectural easements in their estate plans.
George Bernard Shaw is credited with saying ‘Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.’ I think the 4400 block has kept things clean on their side of the aisle and are patiently waiting for the developer to do the right thing despite opaque and disorienting actions. Good architecture is worth preserving. Good communities are worth saving. Good neighbors are worth protecting.
Mark Marynick- Highland Park resident
Update
Demolition has commenced.
