[MassHistPres] article from Boston Globe on the Joseph Draper House, Dover

Fri Jun 27 13:02:23 EDT 2014

I'm so sorry Sara, I was not trying to imply you didn't do enough. The frustrations of this sort are known to us all too well, and these owners sound like complete money grubbing idiots.  I was only saying what we did, but admittedly, we had the owners on board & the town on board.
Please take my comment only as an option that might be out there for some other  town with a less intractable owner.
We fight the good fight, but sometimes we lose them.
We had $250,000  CPA funds voted& approved at town meeting for an 1800 house and barn, and after all the work we did, the owners sold them to a rich person in town who knocked them down only to put up oversized reproduction barns that look like DisneyWorld to us, but they think they are an improvement. 
sorry again,
Marisa

On Jun 27, 2014, at 12:33 PM, Sara Molyneaux wrote:

> Firstly, please understand that the land the house resides on is not for sale, and that is not negotiable. A land swap has been attempted, and it is not a possibility. The owners have a new house under construction on the lot, which is not divisible under Dover bylaws. The Draper House must be removed from its ancestral site. The paragraphs below describe prices for the house itself - no land.
> 
> The owners’ offer to give it to the Town and the Historical Commission blew up in 2005 after a year and a half of effort, and the owners want nothing to do with Dover. That is why this independent group, the Friends, began negotiating in 2008. At that time, the asking price was $470,000 for the house, in cash (thank you, Dover Assessors, for your help in the owners arriving at that figure). And then, one must remove it from the site at one's own expense. In June 2010, an offer from the Friends of $50,000 was accepted, and the money was conveyed to the sellers in cashiers’ checks, which they held for several months and then changed their mind and returned the checks. 
> 
> Dover does not have CPA funds. Not that we have not tried - we did pass a land bank at Town Meeting in 1996. A subsequent CPA effort failed. 
> 
> Our present offer ($12,500 plus all cleanup and remediation) was rejected, but still stands. As of June fourth, the price was quoted as “more than your group offered before - maybe $75,000” and by June 6th the owner told me on the phone the price was $125,000. Yesterday, he told a Dover Selectman on the phone the price is now $150,000. 
> 
> We understand that the owners did seek salvage bids in the last several months and we know at least one bid was made. 
> 
> The big difference between now and the past years of efforts is that the house really does need to be gone as of a certain stage in the building of the new construction. The building inspector has bent over backwards and allowed the Draper House to remain until the interior plastering stage. The new building is nearing the end of framing and the roof is under construction. 
> 
> 
> 
> Sara Molyneaux
> Friends of the Joseph Draper House
> Dover
> 
> SaveDoversOldestHouse on Facebook
> 
> On Jun 27, 2014, at 10:52 AM, Marisa Morra <marisa-ah at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>> Does Dover have CPA money? Could they get a sum of money to purchase the house & move it?   Even before we had CPA Money, Weston bought an historic property using town money & resold it with  preservation restrictions in place through a town RFP process. It was 2 houses & open space. The 2 houses sold for not that much money & have both been restored. If the intractable owner will sell it to the town (even though they should just give it away), then the town should find a way to purchase it- $125,000 is not that much spread among the residents of Dover.  You could call that rewarding bad behavior, but  if that saves the house, so be it.
>> We have some hard calls here too, that's why we went to giving CPA money to private historic houses, not just town owned buildings.
>> Marisa Morra
>> Weston Hist. Comm.
>> 
>> 
>> On Jun 26, 2014, at 11:12 AM, james hadley wrote:
>> 
>>> Ms. Molyneaux:
>>> If it were only so simple. 
>>> 
>>> The ultimate choice between profit and ethics is the essential test here, as it is in so much of contemporary American society. Is he proceeding? If so, you might question his real ethical commitment to the town. 
>>> Within the constraints of our system, we ALL must make individual choices. 
>>> 
>>> I am EX Chair of the Orleans Historical Commission for a reason. Finally, I could no longer abide the unbridled destructive nature of the Cape Cod Real Estate economy - so I left. 
>>> 
>>> I left: historic captains' houses purchased by wealthy New Yorkers to destroy, and replace with fairy tale houses designed and built by a local architect/builder. 
>>> 
>>> I left: an economy dominated by Real Estate brokers, almost all of whom are lacking any ethical commitment to preservation. And all touting the notion of "Old Cape Cod," even as they sell it for dismantling, piece by piece. 
>>> 
>>> I left: an historic early 19th century Cape Cod cottage owned by Comcast that was deteriorating so badly we passed a Demolition by Neglect ordinance. This action prompted Comcast to apply for a demolition permit, and the house is now gone.
>>> 
>>> I left: A tract of land purchased by Habitat for Humanity (with Community Development Funds) that contained an historic house. As member of the CPC representing the Historical Commission I lobbied for, and finally got, a 40B subdivision allowing Habitat to keep the historic house and develop the 6 houses they sought. This historic house is now GONE, to be replaced by another Habitat dwelling following a half-hearted attempt by Habitat to find a builder willing to restore and re-use the house.  Note that I have spoken with a willing builder who applied, but was put off by persons in Habitat, who were unwilling to take him seriously - despite his record of successful restoration and re-use projects - and so gave up. 
>>> 
>>> Keep this in mind, please: each and every aspect of the ongoing destruction of a place is traceable to individual decisions involving ethics and money. 
>>> 
>>> James Hadley AIA
>>> Ex Chair, Orleans Historical Commission
>>> 
>>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] article from Boston Globe on the Joseph Draper House, Dover
>>> From: meauxmo1 at comcast.net
>>> Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 09:52:36 -0400
>>> CC: jameswhadley at hotmail.com; MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
>>> To: rbattlesfoy at comcast.net
>>> 
>>> Rosemary and James,
>>> 
>>> No, it’s not quite like that. If there were ever a builder who could have brought this waffling owner over to the side of reason, it would have been this local builder, who grew up in the town, is well-liked and is known for building appropriate, tastefully-sized homes, as he is doing for them (behind the Draper House). The builder has had numerous conversations with the Olivas about the value - and practicality - of allowing someone to take the Draper house, and has been met with increasing ire and resistance. Now apparently the owners have told him he won’t even be allowed to salvage parts! The owner told me three weeks ago his price for the house is $125,000. 
>>> 
>>> All proposals since the owners (Anthony and Annette Oliva) purchased the property in 2003 have been rejected. These include proposals to swap land that the Draper House sits on for adjacent land the land trust owns. 6 Farm Street does not have enough frontage to be divisible into two lots. In the early years, the owners did proposed a four house subdivision and allowed developers to approach the Planning Board about a 40B on the property. Neither of these gained traction. Now, their three children are half grown up, and it seems the reality that it was time to build a proper house. They own the property adjacent to 6 Farm Street, and have lived in an older duplex on that property since 2003. 
>>> 
>>> The Dover Historical Commission imposed its one-year demolition delay in about 2004, and photographed the house during that time. 
>>> 
>>> Sara Molyneaux
>>> Dover
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jun 25, 2014, at 10:16 PM, Rosemary <rbattlesfoy at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Yes, maybe Sara could tell us here when that information is available who  are the contractor & architect of the replacement houses (for there are sure so be multiples with seven acres to cash in on).
>>> At a minimum, the Draper house should be documented if it isn't already and a salvage crew be brought in. That way, at least some part of the house will live on. 
>>> I'm sure every method has been tried, but has Olivera (the owner) been asked if he'd consider sub-dividing the property legally? He'd sell the house and a small parcel for it, and he'd still be able to develop the other acreage. This depends on zoning, of course, and his willingness to forgo a percentage of the millions he'll make in the redevelopment. 
>>> 
>>> Rosemary B. Foy
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jun 25, 2014, at 9:53 AM, james hadley <jameswhadley at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Although controversial, might I suggest a boycott of the builder who undertakes the demolition and replacement. There ARE  negative consequences to our actions as players in a capitalist society.
>>> At the very least, the names of the architect for any replacement house and the builder of that house should be made available widely, so that people can make their own judgement.
>>> James Hadley AIA
>>> former chair, Orleans Historical Commission
>>> 
>>> From: meauxmo1 at comcast.net
>>> Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 21:09:34 -0400
>>> To: MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
>>> Subject: [MassHistPres] article from Boston Globe on the Joseph Draper House,	Dover
>>> 
>>> 
>>> As a progress report to a story we all know all too well, here is an article printed in the Boston Globe West last Sunday, concerning the plight of the Joseph Draper House (c.1724) in Dover. 
>>> 
>>> Sara Molyneaux
>>> Friends of the Joseph Draper House
>>> 
>>> SaveDoversOldestHouse on Facebook
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2014/06/21/dover-preservationists-want-save-joseph-draper-house-from-demolition/Qsm0alZ5COOpSsIr162fCN/story.html
>>> 
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> 

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