It took three tries, but the Eureka Springs Community Center Foundation got approval from the Historic District Commission for the redesigned plan for razing building B-100 on the Community Center property as long as at least 1500 of the glass blocks from the building will be repurposed into a wall of the proposed bandshell on the property.
Al Larson, a member of the Eureka Springs School Board and the Community Center Foundation board, represented the application. Larson first appeared at the Sept. 7 HDC meeting informing the commission that engineers had told the Foundation it would be very expensive to keep the glass block corner of the original building since it would not stand on its own without the other walls and roof to support it, and any buttresses would be off the Community Center property. Larson said engineers proposed disassembling the glass block wall and repurposing the blocks in a wall for the bandshell in a location more central to that edge of the property. Commissioners asked for more details.
At the Oct. 5 meeting, Larson presented new artist’s renderings of the stage toward the center of the property instead of in the corner. Commissioners, still not satisfied, asked Larson to return with a more specific artist’s rendering of the how the blocks would be used in the bandshell, and at this meeting Larson complied, displaying several renderings of what the bandshell might look like with the blocks in place.
Chair Dee Bright asked Larson if the commission could come to see the disassembled glass blocks after they are taken down. Commissioner Melissa Greene asked if 2000 blocks could be saved. Larson replied the specs that bids are based on call for 1500 blocks to be saved, cleaned up and palletized for storage until bandshell construction. He said he could ask for more than 1500 to be saved, but bids have already been submitted.
Greene told Larson she appreciated what CCF is doing to respect the property, but the building, flawed as it was, was a historic icon for the town, “and it hurts to lose it.”
Commissioner Doug Breitling commented the specs for demolition have been bid, so it might difficult to save more than 1500 blocks. He moved to approve the revised demolition plan with the glass blocks being reused as part of the planned bandshell with the proviso commissioners would be able to see the blocks as they are being stored.
Commissioners approved Breitling’s motion.
Commissioners approved these two items on the consent Agenda:
- 4 Summit – new storm windows, screen doors, fencing
- 36 Elk – new paint color
Consent Agenda items are Level I applications that the City Preservation Officer believes
to be in accordance with the Design Guidelines.
Bright presented these Administrative Approvals, which are applications for repair
and work involving no changes in materials or color but which include changes in roofing color.
- 78 Wall – re-roof
- 11 Howell – extend COA for painting
- 263 Spring – repaint
Next meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m.