By EVAN R. THOMPSON
HISTORIC BEAUFORT FOUNDATION

New construction proposed for four downtown locations will be addressed this month by the city’s Historic District Review Board at its monthly meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, in the Beaufort Arsenal.

Historic Beaufort Foundation has one representative on this board of five volunteer citizens appointed by the City Council. People often confuse the review board and Historic Beaufort Foundation. HBF does not review or approve projects; we are advocates for preservation, but not the final decision-makers.

Under Section 3.19(C) of the City’s Unified Development Ordinance, the following are to be used to guide decision making and ensure consistent policies:

The “Beaufort Preservation Manual” and “Beaufort Preservation Manual Supplement” compiled by John Milner & Associates (commonly known as “Milner”); the “Northwest Quadrant Design Principles;” and the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards for Rehabilitation.”

There are also zoning regulations that govern maximum height, lot coverage and other issues.

Yet Milner expressly states that “it should not be surprising that the potential exists for a conflict between the preservation goals of the larger District and the requirements associated with Zoning Districts within it … it is the [board’s] responsibility – and, by extension, that of this [Milner] supplement, to evaluate projects in accordance with the preservation goals of the larger Historic Beaufort District rather than the more limited perspective of the particular Zoning Districts within it.”

HBF’s Preservation Committee offers these comments on upcoming projects:

Proposed 700 Bay Street facade.* Bay & Carteret (700 Bay Street) – Applicant Bill Jones of Tidal Wave 23 LLC is seeking to demolish the western portion of the old BB&T building on Bay Street and rebuild it with a façade that resembles the original as depicted on postcard images supplied by HBF. The applicant is also deleting the third story that was originally approved in 2005.

HBF supports these changes. The Horne Automotive Building, constructed in 1919, was remodeled and incorporated with two adjacent buildings in 1966. This westernmost portion of the old BB&T building is also structurally inadequate and when reconstructed the new building will be superior in structural quality than the old one.

Plans for the new three-story structure on the corner of Bay and Carteret in the old BB&T parking lot were approved in 2005 despite significant public protest, and those plans have not been changed.

Old Greyhound Bus Station* Greyhound Station (210 Scott’s Street) – Tucked behind the small brick building on Scott’s Street across from Blackstone’s is the old Greyhound Bus Station, constructed in 1953. A conceptual proposal from architect Bill Chambers calls for major modifications to the building, including a second-story addition. The fundamental question is whether or not the Greyhound Station is historic, which would, under the Milner guidelines, mean that a rooftop addition would be prohibited.

It is more than 50 years old, which opens the door for a historic designation. In terms of its architecture, it is rather plain, but it is also a unique building type representative of a small town’s mid-century architecture that, once lost, will never be replaced downtown. It is also perhaps the only example surviving in Beaufort of a building designed with racially segregated spaces (the bathrooms).

One of Beaufort’s most famous 20th century men is boxer Joe Frazier, and it was here at this station that he caught the bus that would take him to New York and, eventually, Philadelphia and on to the international fame as the heavyweight champion of the world.

We should make every effort to save important cultural landmarks. Reminders of segregation are painful but important, particularly with so little architectural evidence of it remaining. Our Preservation Committee had mixed feelings about the building, but its cultural significance significantly outweighs its contemporary architectural shortcomings.

Proposed Bay Street building. Fordham Market is at right.* 705-709 Bay Street – 303 Associates is proposing to tear down an existing one-story building housing three businesses and to replace it with a four-story condominium building. It is not a historic building, and a new structure would be better suited for the site. However, the building that has been proposed is out of scale with Beaufort’s architecture and is not compatible with the historic district. It would be significantly taller than its neighbors, and would exceed the 42-foot height limitation recommended by consulting firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent as part of the city’s preservation plan update. Its excessive height, scale and mass are nearly identical to structures illustrated on page 44 of the Milner guidelines as buildings of inappropriate scale and size.

Proposed West Street project. Building at right has already been approved.* 809 Port Republic Street – The Review Board will examine another proposal from 303 Associates to construct a series of three-story, connected structures along West Street, behind a three-story building approved last month for the corner of West and Port Republic. It should be denied.

HBF and the review board both expressed opinions that the approval of the building on the corner should not be seen as a precedent for additional new construction along West Street.

Continuous stretches of connected, three-story streetfront facades are not appropriate in the district, and the building is incompatible with the historic one-story cottage at the corner of West and Craven. This block of West is and should remain a transition area from the more urban character of Port Republic to the residential quality of Craven. HBF would welcome new construction on this otherwise blank streetscape, just not these buildings.

The public is always invited to comment on each of the projects that are heard by the Historic District Review Board. Constructive citizen input is encouraged, particularly when bolstered by references to the existing guidelines, ordinances and standards.

Evan R. Thompson is the executive director of the Historic Beaufort Foundation. He can be reached at ethompson@historicbeaufort.org