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A shift of historic proportions Mail Tribune / Jim Craven This 120-year-old house on Ashland's Granite Street will not be demolished but will be moved instead. A misunderstood demolition notice posted earlier this month caused a furor in town among those who want to keep the cottage in its historic district. The impending move of an Ashland home stirs a longstanding debate over responsible building By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune The new owners of the 120-year-old Daley house on Granite Street in Ashland plan to have the structure moved elsewhere in the neighborhood to make way for a new, $980,000 home. But a sign posted on the house Dec. 17 said it was to be demolished, prompting a front-page story Friday in the Ashland Daily Tidings that included protests from preservationists. However, the home in fact was sold on Nov. 27 for $1 to Lawrence and Laura Shrewsbury of Ashland, who plan to relocate it within the historic Skidmore Academy District of Ashland, Laura Shrewsbury said. The sign was posted to allow the land's owners the option of tearing it down should the sale and relocation fall through. Nevertheless, preservationists assailed the loss of the home from its site, a block above Lithia Park. "The Daley house is one of the oldest and sweetest houses and it sits on one of Ashland's most historic streets," said Ashland restoration consultant George Kramer. "The new home is almost twice the size of anything on the street. The volume of it overwhelms the streetscape. It's like a bungalow on steroids." The new home, to be built by Paolo and Luisa Spadini, is a 5,400-square-foot home of the Craftsman style, drawn from the same architectural period about a century ago, said its architect Jerome White of Ashland. The present house at 99 Granite St. is of the small, simple vernacular style and, because it was skimpily built and has fallen into disrepair, would have been too expensive for the owners to move elsewhere on the property and restore, he said. The Spadinis got a city permit allowing them to either move or demolish the home, but sold it for relocation a few blocks away at 315 High St., said White. The cottage will be an accessory unit to an existing home and will be visible from the street, said Shrewsbury. The brouhaha over the Daley house's potential demise got going when the Spadinis posted the demolition notice Dec. 17, allowing 10 days to protest the action by requesting a public hearing. The couple decided on that move because an earlier purchase deal fell through and they "wanted to keep their options open" if the current deal also failed, said city planner Mark Knox. Several members of the Ashland Historic Commission were aware of the sale, but were surprised by the demolition notice, so they filed a hearing request, said member Kay Maser. On learning the sale was still intact, Maser and commission member Joan Steele remained irate over the relocation. "It bothers me," said Steele. "Why would anyone come to a charming, quaint town and get rid of the house that's there, then build a castle? I'm frustrated because we (the Historic Commission) have no power. If people want to do something, they just go ahead and do it. "We just voted unanimously against another monster home like this and the planning commission went ahead and approved it anyway." "They're tearing down the picturesque history of Ashland and putting more demand on our infrastructure," said Maser. "It seems irresponsible to me. There are lots of places outside our historic districts to build these trophy homes." Speaking for the Spadinis at their request, White said the new home meets codes on height, solar access and lot coverage on the half-acre site. The couple earlier tried to move the cottage to the back of the lot, but hit a snag over a neighbor's objections for driveway access, he said. "It's not fair to say she (Luisa Spadini) isn't respecting the historic nature of the area. She hired me because of my reputation for designing historic homes. As for bulk and scale, these are very subjective, and this home if built back in 1905 would not create any arguments about size." Laura Shrewsbury said it's hard in Ashland's real estate market "to support a tiny cottage on a pricey piece of property. It needs a home and it needs to stay in its district. It needs to be treasured but there are also day-to-day realities." The old 750-square-foot house was built by mill owner W.C. Daley in 1880 and, although covered with modern shingle siding, retains all its old decorative window and porch elements. Its structure prohibits thermal windows or even insulation, said the Spadinis' builder, Jon Turrell of Ashland. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.