Facing the possibility of demolition, two historic cabins in South Hills were briefly assessed by one of West Virginia's experts in restoring such structures.
Mark Bowe, the owner of Lewisburg-based Antique Cabins & Barns, as featured on the TV show "Barnwood Builders," visited the Gilliland cabins at 1552 Bridge Road to see if they could be reasonably recovered.
The prognosis wasn't promising.
On a visit to Charleston a few months ago, Bowe said he was given permission to "assess the cabins and do a quick walk around."
The firm travels around the state to carefully dismantle log structures and transport them to its facility for refurbishing before reassembling and returning them.
In an email on Monday, Bowe told the Gazette-Mail that based on his look at Gilliland Cabins, they are "at least 15 years beyond restoration."
"The amount of replacement [for the] logs, flooring, trim, roof [and] joists would mean that upon restoration, only a small percentage of the structures' wood would be original," Bowe said.
But that's not stopping those who live near the cabins from trying to salvage them in light of developer J.D. Stricklen's recent purchase of a house, the cabins - and the four acres on which they sit.
City Councilman Tom Lane is working to petition South Hills residents and members of the Charleston Land Trust to raise money for the cabins' restoration.
Stricklen's application to develop the property where the cabins sit into a 10-home subdivision was denied by the Municipal Planning Commission in January.
He has since appealed that decision, naming both the commission and the city of Charleston in a complaint filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court. Briefings from both parties will be due in April.
While Stricklen has said he's willing to donate the cabins to the city and have them relocated to the adjacent Chilton Preserve, Lane told South Hills residents in an email that "our goal should be to retain the historic structures at their existing location and to refurbish them."
In order to do that, they must find an entity that will take ownership of and preserve the cabins and raise the funds needed to refurbish them. Lane suggested a fundraising goal of $75,000.
If a judge reverses the planning commission's decision, "our drop-back position would be at least preserve the cabins with an eye to rebuilding them some place else," Lane said in an interview Monday. "The worst possible outcome is that they get destroyed and lost forever."
In the meantime, Lane has introduced a bill that will be addressed in the planning commission's next meeting on April 6.
The bill would amend the city's zoning ordinance to increase the temporary stay of demolition of historic buildings from 90 days to 180 days.
Although the bill would have no bearing on the Gilliland cabins if passed, it still would provide more time to seek alternatives in the future when historic buildings are sought for demolition, Lane said.
Historic preservation consultant Mike Gioulis also assessed the cabins in December to determine their quality, which was presented at the planning commission's public hearing on Stricklen's development plans in January.
Due to prolonged deterioration and water damage, Gioulis estimated that 35 to 45 percent of the cabins' logs would need to be replaced, not to mention roofing repairs and replacing some doors and windows.
"It is a shame that such a local treasure has deteriorated," Bowe said. "Even after 20 years of restoration experience, I simply can't reverse the damage Mother Nature has done [to the cabins] and keep the authenticity."
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.