22 Lilly.docx
Northampton Historical Commission
Meeting Notice – Online Meeting
DATE: Monday, November 28, 2022
TIME: 5:30 PM
PLACE: Remote Online Meeting
RE: Public Hearing: To determine whether the carriage house accessory structure at 22 Lilly Street, map ID 17C-283 should be determined "Preferably Preserved" pursuant to the Northampton
Demolition Review Ordinance, Chapter 161 of the General Code
Background
When I bid on, and then purchased, 22 Lilly Street it was with the intention of addressing the home’s significant deferred maintenance and giving it much needed updates, as well as stabilizing
and preserving the carriage house.
The updates required for the house are extensive, including redoing all electrical and plumbing, patching or replacing plaster, repairing the roof, painting throughout the house, and
refinishing the floors as well as tending to the trees, updating the HVAC, bathrooms, and kitchen. Based on my conversations with the seller, none of this has been done in close to
six decades. (The seller replaced all the windows and painted the house prior to listing.) This work is currently ongoing and being completed by Wright Builders.
Since May 2022 I have also sought the advice of four contractors (Construct, Integrity, Wright Builders, and Bramucci), one architect (Meetinghouse on Main Street), and one barn specialist
(Dan Pederson) to assess the status of the carriage house. Each builder noted that the carriage house has no foundation as for many decades water has run down the driveway and hillside
eroding its foundation. The garage, added later, is unsalvageable owing to water damage.
Experts shared several ways one might add a foundation to the carriage house. Dan Pederson, a barn specialist, offered one option:
The structure would have to be raised one wall at a time (all boards removed and a large timber horizontal "strongback" is attached at all studs) with a hydraulic jack while a mason
would repair the brick foundation. Then a new floor would be laid, and the new roof would get put on. This all adds up to a slow and laborious process and is probably on par with
the cost of new construction. It also doesn't address the settling or drainage issues that caused the sagging and deterioration in the first place.
The property would further require addressing the grading and draining issues.
In addition, the slate roof needs to be stabilized and repaired and all doors and windows replaced or repaired and the exterior painted. These are the observable repairs. Builders have
not closely inspected the upper level due to safety concerns. The estimates for this work are $150,000 and higher.
I, and Meetinghouse Architecture, researched whether I am eligible for public funds or grants, but I am not as the carriage house is on private land.
I also learned that the Emily Dickinson Museum will be building a carriage house and I spoke with the Director regarding whether the Lilly carriage house could be moved to the Dickinson
Museum. Unfortunately, funding and bureaucracy make this a multi-year process with no guarantee it would be possible.
One might reasonably ask, "Why not let the carriage house age as it has been?" Insurance presents a barrier to this solution as well. I have had two policies since purchasing the house
in June-- one residential and one construction. Under the first policy, which I had for two months, I was sent a notice that the carriage house foundation needed to repaired or else
my insurance would be cancelled. When I switched to construction insurance, I was told the carriage house would need to be repaired or else my house insurance would be cancelled. The
only way I was able to get construction insurance to restore the house (currently in process and slated to be done at the end of February) was to exclude the carriage house from my
coverage. As a result, the carriage house is currently uninsured.
When I move into the house in February, and thus need to transition from construction insurance to residential coverage, I will again encounter a problem getting coverage. The best-case
scenario is that the carriage house will need to be excluded to obtain insurance. The worst-case scenario is that I will be denied insurance for the entire property. It was the insurance
issue and timeline that prompted the demolition permit. Otherwise, I might have simply let the house sit as it has been for over 100 years.
Once learning this I also reached out to several architectural salvage companies, but I was told the project was either too complex or else was out of their service area.
This has been deeply disappointing news.
I welcome ideas from the Historical Commission.
Submitted by Katrina Karkazis