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11/30/2005: "Can Churchill House In FH Be Saved?"

(Photo by Sandy Strehlou)

The lovely yellow house that graces the hill above the ferry line is once again in danger of being demolished. Previous story. Plans to move the Churchill House to a new Argyle Street site have fallen through.

The Churchill property was purchased last summer by Friday Harbor businessman Charles Thomas and a partner. The partners are planning to start construction in January on a mixed use development. They believe that including the old house in the development does not make financial sense and would like to find a new home for it.

For the last few months, the town Historic Preservation Review Board and staff member Sandy Strehlou have been actively working with a private developer on a plan to move the building to his Argyle property. Unfortunately, he has decided that he will not be able to undertake a project of this size by the mid January deadline. With just two months before the projected start of construction, the fate of the Churchill House remains uncertain.



Over the years, many of the older homes in town have been moved to make room for new construction. With the cost of new construction so high, it has made sense for property owners willing to rehabilitate an older home to pay the moving and rehab costs. In exchange, they have the benefit of the original charm, craftsmanship and quality of building materials unavailable in low cost new construction.

Despite the advantages over new construction, moving an old house isn't cheap. In the case of Churchill House, the estimated cost to move the house is at least $40,000. In addition, there are costs associated with removing the newer building additions, building a new foundation, raising power lines, utility hookups and necessary rehabilitation.

Once a building has been neglected for a number of years, it becomes more difficult to save it from demolition. The HPRB has looked at many options for saving this building. These include purchase of historic preservation easements by public agencies, finding a private developer to finance a commercial reuse of the building or a property owner in town who would be interested in taking the house. We all need to support property owners and developers who want to preserve and maintain our historic buildings and the HPRB will continue to work on creating incentive programs and finding financing options to encourage that.

We believe that there is still a chance to save Churchill House, perhaps even to keep it in town, but time is rapidly running out. It will take an immediate and concerted effort by one or more committed people or organizations. Without this, we may all have the sad experience of watching a beloved historic landmark brought down by the wrecking ball.

We welcome citizen input, ideas and interest in this issue. Please contact Sandy Strehlou, the Town of Friday Harbor Historic Preservation Coordinator at Town Hall. Stop by, call 378-2810, or email sstrehlou@fridayharbor.org.

Submitted by the Historic Preservation Review Board: Mary Jane Anderson, Gary Franklin, Martha Padve, David Waldron, Scott Zehner