The demolition of two historic cabins in South Hills has been delayed, following a vote by the Charleston Historic Landmarks Commission on Thursday.
Developer J.D. Stricklen said he has a contract on the four-acre property and wants to tear down the structures so he can build a 10-home subdivision.
The cabins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but that does not save them from demolition.
Located at the corner of Loudon Heights and Bridge Road, the estate contains a home and two cabins. Jean Miller built the home in 1978, while the cabins date back to 1847.
It has been on and off the market for three years. Originally listed at $1.5 million, it's now selling for $750,000.
Stricklen said he is open to options for the cabins, including moving them, disassembling and reassembling them elsewhere or tearing them down. Stricklen said he is going to hire a consultant to look at the cabins and give recommendations as to which option he should to take.
"I have no complaint with the 90-day period, which will give me ample time to get me who I need on site and investigate. But I'm not sure what the outcome of that will be. That's why I have applied, in a worse case scenario, to demolish the property by proper procedure," Stricklen said.
The 90-day stay of demolition allows organizations, community members and the developer to look at all options other than demolition that might be feasible to save a historic structure.
No one who attended Thursday's meeting, which filled the conference room of the City Services Center, spoke in favor of the demolition proposal.
Kit Forbes Wellford, who chairs the board of the Craik-Patton house, suggested the parcel with the two cabins become public space for the residents and visitors of South Hills.
"Even if you take all the logs away, you still have the foundations. I think it's a very, very important historical site to Charleston, certainly to the South Hills area and us as neighbors," Wellford said.
Councilman Tom Lane, who lives in South Hills and chairs the Charleston Land Trust, suggested the land be donated to the trust. The Miller property sits adjacent to the Chilton property in South Hills, which the organization has been developing into a public recreation site. Lane also offered the Chilton property to house the cabins if they can be relocated.
One neighbor argued the cabins are a "dyke" that keeps the area, zoned as an R-2 area, less dense. Demolishing the cabins, she said, would allow the subdivision to be built and demean the intent of the R-2 zoning for that area.
Charleston Historic Landmarks Commission Chairman Billy Peyton told Stricklen it would be "a huge blow to this community" if the cabins were torn down.
"We have nothing else in Charleston that compares to the history of these log buildings, which are part of our Appalachian and our county's and our city's history," Peyton said. "I'm stymied by the whole idea that they would just be removed from the site."
Reach Rachel Molenda at rachel.molenda@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @rachelmolenda on Twitter.