Inside 113 E. 3rd St.

[Timkin]

The House is amazing , as is the features.

[Miss Fixit]

This house is going to be a much larger undertaking than the Walnut Court house.  The fire damage is extensive.  Much of the siding was lost in the fire; some has been replaced (but badly); in other areas the house has been left open to the elements for two years.

What would Mr. Motes be required to do immediately in order to properly mothball this house?

[iloveionia]

Billy is prepared to restore the house. 
With a mothball COA Billy will mothball his house: we are just moral and knowledge support.

Have you been inside the house?  You should talk with Gloria as she HAS been inside. 
Apprearances are not what they seem.

For mothballing Billy's house: replace the missing siding (with siding or cut to fit plywood,) board the windows, close in the crawlspace, cut back overgrown shrubs, prime entire house, repair or overlay front porch floor as needed, repair/overlay back deck floor, replace back patio joist, install motion solar lights, roof leak free, verify stability of front porch bracing, add minor landscaping.  We also recommended removing the chainlink fence at the front. 

While I may not have the experience of some, this is a gorgeous house, as that interior trim is remarkable.  And the multiple fireplaces?  Wow. 

Save the houses. 

The homeowner deeply desires to do right thing for this house.  He has the ability to do so.  We are here to support him to save the house.

[strider]

What is interesting is that the best way to save a house is to use it.  While many did not like the Billy Moat's of the world, he found uses for these houses when very often no one else would even try.  Cut up into rooms or not, the house was ten times safer with him using it than it is now.  Billy Moats is not the horror some make him out to be and the truth is, he loves his houses.

This house is in amazingly in good condition considering the fire.  The fire actually did relativity little damage and the roof does not leak.  While the outside looks really bad, the exterior walls can e seal up easily enough and the house will not be all that bad to mothball. 

The trim in this house dates it to be one of the oldest in the community. The picture mold is very unique and the hand carving on the corner blocks indicates a house built with care and craftsmanship that is very rare today.

It not only should be saved, it MUST be saved. 

[Timkin]

So often criticism surrounds those who would favor saving a beautiful structure over bulldozing it or burning it.

I get it all the time.  I will never give up

[Miss Fixit]

Yes, I have been inside the house, with two different general contractors who have a lot of experience with historic properties.  I wanted to buy it and restore it myself, but it was too much work for me. 

I certainly hope the owner does have the ability to restore it. 

[peestandingup]

What is interesting is that the best way to save a house is to use it.  While many did not like the Billy Moat's of the world, he found uses for these houses when very often no one else would even try.  Cut up into rooms or not, the house was ten times safer with him using it than it is now.  Billy Moats is not the horror some make him out to be and the truth is, he loves his houses.

This. I've always said this. Get the houses into people's hands who WANT them & can take care of them, and away from those individuals/agencies who let them go to hell. And I'm not talking about this house in particular. If it has a good owner, then fine. I just mean all the houses in Springfield that have been neglected. And do it fast & furious.

Auction them to individuals who intend to live in them (not ones trying to make a buck). Auctions auctions auctions. I love what you guys do & you deserve all the praise in the world, but this is a BIG problem that a small organization made up of only a couple of determined individuals who are only able to tackle a few of these properties at a time cannot fix alone.

Follow their lead: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/04/brisk_sales_of_abandoned_prope.html

[iloveionia]

You are preaching to the choir.
Having personally made several attempts to contact absentee owners of vacant homes it is beyond a challenge.  I don't know where these people hide or why they ignore their responsibility to their house and to the neighborhood.
If the city would grow some balls, take the houses that have been forgotten and give folks a chance to live the American Dream, it would be a win-win all around. 
We'd have neighbors and commerce.
But that makes sense.
And I've learned from my comings and goings, not much makes sense in Jacksonville, particularly in Springfield and downtown. 
We got mothballing to reality.
Maybe we can get auctions into reality too.

[peestandingup]

You're right on. The problem, as usual, is Jacksonville. The individuals who let them get to this point & who you can't find now, while a problem, are secondary.

I've always said that Springfield's biggest problem isn't the people, it isn't the determination of the residents, it isn't even the houses or the blight. It's the city the neighborhood is in.

[iloveionia]

In the case of this house, the condition is not relevant.
Well, except to code enforcement who think anything upright and unoccupied in Springfield should come down.
The owner wishes to fix the property and has fixed other properties in Springfield. 
Since I do not know any history with the owner, and frankly don't care, I am elated that this house will be able to have life breathed into it.
When we talked he reminisced about the sidewalks with their hex stones, the granite curbs, and the brick streets.  And the houses lost, my goodness.  This owner was born in Springfield and remembers much and deeply saddened by Springfield's losses. 
Mothballing is meant to protect the homes while an owner has adequate and fair time to renovate/restore; and this he will do. 
I will not judge past actions, deeds, however anyone wishes to call it.
I simply care about saving the houses.
That's it.  Save the houses.

[Timkin]

You are preaching to the choir.
Having personally made several attempts to contact absentee owners of vacant homes it is beyond a challenge.  I don't know where these people hide or why they ignore their responsibility to their house and to the neighborhood.
If the city would grow some balls, take the houses that have been forgotten and give folks a chance to live the American Dream, it would be a win-win all around. 
We'd have neighbors and commerce.
But that makes sense.
And I've learned from my comings and goings, not much makes sense in Jacksonville, particularly in Springfield and downtown. 
We got mothballing to reality.
Maybe we can get auctions into reality too.

^^  Not just the houses .. all historic properties that have fallen into disrepair.   Seems really strange.. Most home or building owners are ( were always ) required to maintain their home or building and some were/ are not.    Why is this the case with this City?

IT NEEDS to change.  I agree especially with the part that the City needs to grow a pair..  It also needs to not give preferential treatment to some owners as it clearly has through the years.

[sheclown]

In 1986:



(Thanks Chris Farley)

[sheclown]

What Billy's house could look like --



Gould House 223 W. 4th
(photo:  Chris Farley)



Can you see it?

[sheclown]

http://www.myspringfield.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1621&start=10

Rumor has it that this is one of the houses which has already been funded for demolition.

115 East 3rd Street
6/24/09 HPC Commission approved property to be placed on Formal Track for demolition.

(113/115 same house)

[chris farley]

I now strongly believe they are sister houses, look at the 1985 photo, even the windows are 2 over 2 as in the Gould.  The porch jutting is the same.  I also think the east side of the house may have been added later, it throws off the balance of the house.  I am going to try and find out. I think a very strong argument could be made for replacing the gingerbread and balustrades to match the Gould. I do not think we shall loose this house, but Motes needs also to step up to the plate,  and put some skin into this game, because restored this house is truly a treasure.   There are really three ways to demolish a house, you pull it down, you leave it until it almost falls and has to be taken down or you save it and change the facade completely.  That is why HPC discussions on windows and doors are important, this house needs its 2 by 2 windows with correct mullions back also.   If it is to be saved there has to be a promise that it will be put back, in that way the argument is much stronger.