ESCONDIDO – A 1905 Colonial Revival house downtown is no longer facing possible demolition.
The City Council tabled a proposal yesterday to buy the $775,000 property, on Third Avenue near Maple Street, to turn the site into a city parking lot.
CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune
Two people have asked about relocating and refurbishing this 1905 house on Third Avenue near Maple Street, the Escondido City Council was told.
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Critics had complained the house had too much historic value to be torn down for a parking lot.
“Do you know what you are buying?” asked Lucy Berk, a former member of the city's Historic Preservation Commission. “It's a 10-room house, with a gorgeous fireplace. This is a very very unusual facility.”
It was once the home of E.M. Churchill, who built the 3,000-square-foot house for his family a few blocks from the hardware store he owned on Grand Avenue. The home is listed on the local historic registry.
Assistant City Manager Jack Anderson had said there were no plans to move the house if the city bought the property, unless someone stepped forward to do so.
Jay Petrek, the city's senior planner, told the council that two people have inquired about relocating and refurbishing the house. An environmental study would be needed before it could be moved, he said.
The issue of buying the parcel could come back before the council if the land is still for sale after the house is moved, Petrek said after the meeting.
The council appeared to have little enthusiasm for buying the property.
Councilman Ed Gallo said the asking price was too high. Councilman Sam Abed said the parcel is too far on the outskirts of downtown to be considered for a parking lot for people who work and shop downtown.
For the past year, the city has been looking for ways to make up for downtown parking that would be lost during construction of a proposed Marriott hotel and an accompanying eight-story condo project. Both would be built on city parking lots along Valley Parkway near City Hall.
Abed said the city should look harder for land closer to the heart of downtown, since the hotel and condo project has been delayed at least a few more weeks.
The council was expected to decide on the $100 million-plus development next Wednesday, but the meeting was canceled this week after continued public complaints about the project.
In closed session yesterday, the council decided to consider the hotel project separately next month. It also agreed to delay considering the condo project for at least eight months, while an environmental impact report is conducted as part of a downtown specific plan, Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said.
The city's Planning Commission and the Design Review Board both recently rejected the proposed eight-story condo building, which would have 127 condos atop a public and private parking structure. Both panels said the building would be too tall and uncharacteristic of the city's quaint downtown.
Booyeon Lee: (760) 737-7566; booyeon.lee@uniontrib.com
