Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW DA: Woman killed in April crash was driving recklessly ... Investigators say mower sparked Stouts fire ... Afternoon fishing closure lifted on the Rogue River ... DA: Woman killed in April crash was driving recklessly ... Investigators say mower sparked Stouts fire ... Afternoon fishing closure lifted on the Rogue River ... TOO EXPENSIVE TO SAVE Another historical home faces demolition in Phoenix Another historical home faces demolition Comment By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 7, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 7, 2015 at 12:11 PM By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 7, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 7, 2015 at 12:11 PM » Social News PHOENIX — Another pioneer home that historical preservationists had hoped to relocate and restore likely will be demolished this summer.  City officials said last week that saving the pioneer Furry house, a faded green and white 2½-story house on the south end of town, would be financially and logistically prohibitive. Estimates of the cost for moving and renovating the house ranged up to $735,000. Property owner Wes Norton offered to give the structure, built in 1905, to the city for use as a community center. Acceptance of the offer would allow him to redevelop his property while preventing the house from being demolished. One of several houses built by descendants of Frederick Furry, who traveled the Oregon Trail as an infant and settled in Phoenix in 1860, the structure is the second historical home deemed unusable by the city after being offered as a gift by the owner. Last fall, the historic Divenny Steadman house was demolished after more than a year's debate over its fate. Historic preservationist George Kramer challenged claims that the Steadman house was not viable for relocation, and supporters of preserving it worked on plans to relocate and renovate it as a community center.  The property owners ultimately had the structure destroyed when City Council decided against incorporating the house into the city's downtown. City Manager Steve Dahl and Jim Sharp, the city's newly hired urban renewal director, last week said estimates to move the Furry house and renovate it as a community center would cost more than building a nearly identical structure. Sharp said there were many reasons for not pursuing the project. "If there were a long list of possible reasons for a project not to work out, this would fall under the answer of 'all of the above,' " Sharp said. Estimates to move and restore the house ranged from $400,000 to $622,000 for the first floor and $490,000 to $735,000 for both floors. While the project was too expensive for the city to pursue, Sharp said he tried to find private parties to help save the old house. "I've been in real estate development for 35 years and I've seen a lot of cases where ... there's a great building. Everybody loves it and they have great memories there. We have to save that building," Sharp said. "The reality is that some you do save and some you need to sit back and realize that the problem is nobody wants to put the money in to save it." Frustrated to hear of another imminent demolition, Kramer voiced frustration with the city's growing list of historical losses. The historic Colver house, which Kramer noted was one of the most significant structures in the state, was destroyed by fire in September 2008. A historic gas station and the pioneer Rose house both burned over the past two years. "They made a bad decision on the Steadman house, had an unfortunate loss on the Rose house, and now it looks like they are going to make another bad decision on the Furry house," Kramer said. "I feel sorry for the Phoenix Historical Society. They are a really great group of people who are trying really hard to preserve some of the history of Phoenix, but they have to face a major vision problem in the city that will ultimately impede any long-term efforts to create something good." Kramer, who conducted an inventory of historically significant structures for the city last year, said it seemed more like a list of vulnerable properties. "If the Rose house had even been in Talent, it would have been occupied and restored long before it burned to the ground," Kramer said. "If the Furry house was in Ashland, it would've been restored years ago. I can't remember the last old house that was demolished in Ashland. And the last historic structure that burned there, the community rallied and put a temporary roof on it in a matter of days." Norton, the property owner, could not be reached for comment. In an interview earlier this year, Norton, who plans a 27-unit apartment complex on the site, said he hoped the city would save the house. "I think it would fit in with their redevelopment really nice and be a great thing for Phoenix to have," Norton said at the time. "Where it is now, it's too far out of town to do anything with and no one really knows it's there." Phoenix Historical Society member Dorothy Cotton, speaking as a individual while she awaited the society's official response to the issue, was surprised to learn that the Furry house would be torn down. "Last we heard, the city's urban renewal was trying to save it and get it moved. We haven't heard that it was being torn down. That house is a very important house to Phoenix, whether people know it or not," Cotton said, noting that the Steadman house was quietly torn down in a matter of hours. "We have lost so many historic buildings in the last few years it seems a shame we couldn't do something to not lose yet another." Sharp sympathized with supporters of the project. "It's very, very tough when I look around Phoenix and I see so few historic structures, but we are not the only town in Oregon that are in that same boat," Sharp said. "I even sat down with myself one night and said, 'OK, if I gave them a dollar for the house, what can I do?' But every time I worked through the numbers, it was just too expensive. I can go get an architect and duplicate that building for half the cost. That's where it becomes scary." For details on the Furry house and the city's downtown plan, see www.phoenixura.com.  Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected].   By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 7, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 7, 2015 at 12:11 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501