Local News:

Design Ordinance Consultant Selected August 2005

HPA is pleased to share that the design consultant team of James Vance & Associates of 57 Gillett Street in Hartford has been selected by the city to produce a set of guidelines that will enable all of us to understand how to preserve and protect the buildings and homes we live in and own. The purpose of the Hartford Preservation Ordinance is to protect the unique architectural nature of the city's historic neighborhoods so as to enhance the appeal and attractiveness of the city, promote rehabilitation and property maintenance, strengthen the city's economy, and foster neighborhood pride.

The ordinance requires the approval of the Historic Properties Commission before the issuance of a demolition or building permit for exterior work in a historic district that is visible from a public street. The ordinance applies to buildings and neighborhoods which are listed on the National or State Registers of Historic Places.

Click on the following for a summary of the ordinance or a PDF document of the full text.

City Council Passes Historic Preservation Ordinance and Designates 410 Asylum Street a Local Historic Property May 2005

On May 23, 2005, the Hartford City Council unanimously passed the Hartford preservation ordinance. The ordinance will provide limited but significant protections to more than 4,000 Hartford buildings that are in districts listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The ordinance will take effect 30 days after the City Council approves design guidelines. It has a three-year sunset date, which means that it must be renewed after three years or it will expire.

The City intends to hire a consultant to write both the design guidelines and the rules and procedures for the Commission. Can you help us to identify appropriate consultants? The ideal person to take on this task would be someone who is familiar with local historic preservation ordinances and their guidelines (the idea is to use the best of what others have developed, rather than start from scratch), has knowledge of architectural preservation and repair of older buildings, has a good sense of how to integrate design goals with reasonable costs, knows how to write in plain language understandable to lay people, and is able to use graphics and other techniques to produce easily readable materials.

The City will be preparing a Request for Proposals, which we believe it will distribute widely; but HPA has also been invited to submit names of suitable persons to whom the RFP can be sent directly. If you can suggest persons who would be appropriate for this task, please submit their names immediately to HPA Executive Director Laura Knott-Twine, who will forward the names to the City. Names should be sent to her at lktwine@hartfordpreservation.org. Please include, if possible, the consultant's name, address, phone number and email address, along with a brief statement as to why you think the person would do a good job at this task.

The Council also unanimously adopted an ordinance designating the Capitol Building at 410 Asylum Street a local historic property. This 1926 office building at the northern edge of Bushnell Park, was the subject of litigation when the Connecticut Historic Commission, HPA and the City of Hartford successfully blocked its demolition. In 2003, the owners ceased resistance and donated the building to Common Ground, an affordable housing developer. While the ultimate use of the building remains contentious, the adoption of the ordinance subjects the building permanently to the jurisidiction of the City's Historic Properties Commission, which can prohibit demolition and must review and approve any changes to the exterior of the building before they can be implemented.

HPA Moves Into New Offices May 2005

The Hartford Preservation Alliance has a new address – and its no longer a P.O. Box.

Due to its continued growth and success, HPA is now based at the former Underwood Typewriter building (built in 1916) at 56 Arbor Street in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford. "We're very excited to finally have a physical base of operations," said Laura Knott-Twine, Executive Director of the Alliance. "It was important to us to find a location in one of the city's neighborhoods where we could become a part of the community. The rehabilitated Underwood Typewriter building has been adapted to house several businesses and organizations – it exemplifies what HPA is striving to accomplish in Hartford. Having office space will enable us to consolidate our resources, and the Arbor Street location allows us to be accessible to the public."

Effective immediately, HPA's mailing address is 56 Arbor Street, Suite 406, Hartford, CT 06106. The phone number is 860-570-0331.

New Proposal for Preservation Ordinance April 2005

After continuing negotiations with the Preservation Ordinance Task Force that had been appointed more than a year ago by then-city manager Lee Erdmann, Mayor Eddie Perez has submitted to the city council a revised preservation ordinance proposal. The public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for May 16.

The proposed ordinance retains the broad coverage of the original Task Force proposal, creating protections for all buildings that are within national or state register historic districts. The ordinance will apply only to demolitions and to exterior changes to buildings that are visible from the street and require a building permit. Interior changes are not covered. In addition, the proposed ordinance requires city agencies to give priority to preservation in their day-to-day decision-making.

The ordinance also contains many provisions to assure that it will not impose unreasonable costs on property owners, including both a hardship exemption and explicit direction to the Historic Preservation Commission that its guidelines "provide for flexibility in materials and design to promote economic feasibility." In addition, the proposed ordinance contains a provision, insisted upon by the mayor, that the commission not require modifications of an owner's plan for the repair or improvement of a building in a historic district that will add more than 20% to the cost.

The proposed ordinance requires that guidelines be developed and delays the effective date of the ordinance until 30 days after the council approves the guidelines. If the ordinance is adopted, it is expected that the city will contract with a consultant to produce the guidelines. Thus, even if the ordinance were to be adopted by late May or early June, it is unlikely that it could be effective before the fall at the earliest.

While HPA wishes that some portions of the ordinance were drafted differently, it is also very pleased that the mayor's proposal has been filed and very excited about its being adopted, which will represent a major step forward for the city.

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Executive Director Hired March 2005

The HPA board of directors is proud to announce that it has hired Laura Knott-Twine as its first executive director. The hiring was made possible by multi-year grants from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Surdna Foundation. HPA is grateful to these two foundations, as well as to its other funders, for their support.

Ms. Knott-Twine, an eleventh generation Hartford-born Connecticut resident, most recently managed the Small Business Administration Office of Women's Business Ownership at the University of Hartford. A professional weaver and historian, she founded the Windham Textile and History Museum in Windham, which was created from buildings of the former American Thread Co., and for 15 years was its executive director. Since 2002, she has also been on the faculty of Vermont College teaching social sciences and business studies.

Ms. Knott-Twine says, “The extensive work of the Hartford Preservation Alliance has been successful in its preservation and advocacy for the city of Hartford. I am delighted to become part of the team and hope to become a strong link in the chain of historic preservation. I have long been a firm believer in preservation as a way of encouraging economic and social benefits for a community.”

The hiring of Ms. Knott-Twine opens exciting new opportunities for HPA. Until an office is rented, Ms. Knott-Twine is working out of her home office. She can be reached at 860-676-8131 or at lktwine@hartfordpreservation.org. Watch the HPA website for our new office location and new telephone number as soon as it becomes available.

HPA Board Member Publishes Book February 2005

HPA board member Tomas Nenortas has published Victorian Hartford, a book of postcards and other photographs of Hartford at the turn of the century. A book signing with the author, open to the public, was held at the Isham-Terry House, 211 High Street, in Hartford on Sunday, February 20. The book can be purchased at local bookstores or from the publisher. Its cost is $19.99. For more information, contact Tomas Nenortas.

Phoenix Building Placed on National Register February 2005

The Phoenix "Boat Building" on Constitution Plaza has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Headquarters for the Phoenix Mutual Insurance Company, this extraordinary glass and steel structure designed by the architectural firm of Harrison & Abramovitz was completed in 1963. The unusual ovoid shape of the building gives it the appearance of a boat or a football, and its open plaza deck creates "the illusion of an ephemeral green ship floating through space," Hartford Architecture, Volume One: Downtown. For more information, contact Lynn Ferrari.

Notice of Intent to Demolish Filed February 2005

Faith Congregational Church at 2030 Main Street, has filed a notice of intent to demolish the adjacent vacant Lewis Funeral Home at 2016 Main St. The building, which was constructed in 1890 as a single-family home for Hartford dentist, Henry Fisk and his wife Ida, was given to the church for use as a parsonage in 1896. By the 1930s it had become the Johnson Funeral Home, owned by Sidney Johnson, who had begun an undertaking business around the corner on Pavilion St. in 1916. The business was sold to Harold E. James, Jr., in 1959 and to Lillard R. Lewis, Sr., in 1989. At the time of its closing in 2004, the building housed what was believed to be the oldest continuously operating African-American funeral home in the city. It appears that the site will be used as parking for the church. For more information, contact Rafie Podolsky.