SAN DIEGO, CA. – Historic preservationists have found a taker for at least one of the two homes Indiana Street that St. Spyridon church plans to demolish, but has yet to win the delay needed to get the paperwork done.
On Monday, the city issued permits to demolish the buildings, with its documents noting they are historic, according to the department of development services website. Art Balourdas, of Hampstead Partners, turned in the church’s application and paid a total of $2,331 for both demolition permits, according to the website, Sab Diego Reader reports.
In a phone interview last week, Balourdas said he was acting as a member of the parish, not as a developer when he applied for them.
“What we’re hearing is that relocation doesn’t meet the church’s timeline so they are going ahead with demolition,” said Amy Hayes, from Save Our Heritage Organisation. “What we’d still like to do is talk with the church to see if they can delay demolition.”
The two houses are on the 3600 block of Indiana, a block that is almost entirely owned by the church, on the north side of Cypress Street between Park and Indiana. The houses were custom-built (not tract houses) in the 1920s, about the time the church was constructed and one of them has been found eligible for historic designation. Because of the religious exemption, the church does not have to go through the torturous process of justifying its decision and doing impact reports on how it intends to use the land.
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