North Ridge Civic Association
An undated historic photo provided by North Ridge Civic Association, which opposes demolishing the historic property at 506 N. Overlook Dr.
A property owner on North Overlook Drive in the North Ridge neighborhood is asking city officials for permission to subdivide his property in a way that could necessitate tearing down a historic home.
Earlier this year, the North Ridge Civic Association launched a campaign to push city staff to do a full assessment of the property's history and, they hope, prevent the 19th-century home from being torn down.
The owner and the civic association requested a deferment of the matter, taking it off the Alexandria Planning Commission docket in March. Now, the issue is back before the commission and on the docket for April 8.
“The new owner of 506 N. Overlook Drive is proposing to demolish this historic Civil War era house, subdivide the property, and build 2 new houses in its place. This house was built in 1850, owned by a free African American man named Hampshire Fractious in the years immediately after the Civil War, and is said to have been used as a hospital during the war. It is listed as a Documented Historic Site in the 1992 Alexandria Master Plan for Historic Preservation,” according to the petition. Fractious in the late 1860s was listed as owning a house and lot on Queen Street.
As of late February, close to 900 people had signed a Change.org petition sponsored by the North Ridge Civic Association regarding the house. The number of signatures is now at more than 1,000.
“Please support this petition asking the Alexandria Planning Commission to defer approval of this request, at least until the Office of Historic Alexandria can complete the required evaluation and report on the history of this site. We would like to explore alternate approaches that would preserve this important structure as a symbol of North Ridge and as a key part of Alexandria's history.”
The home at 506 North Overlook Drive sold in the summer of 2020 for $1.2 million (see listing photos here). It has three bedrooms and three and one-half baths and sits on two lots that were sold as one that total two-thirds of an acre.
Approval of Subdivision Appears to Require Demolition
The North Ridge Civic Association’s petition will be part of the record before the Alexandria Planning Commission.
The item before the Planning Commission in March only focused on permission to subdivide the lot into two reconfigured parcels; it did not directly address the demolishment of the existing historic home. The docket set for April 8 includes a staff report (available here) that recommends approval of the subdivision of the lots and notes that any plans to demolish the home and redevelop the lots is not under their purview.
The city staff report notes a meeting with North Ridge Civic Association representatives:
"Staff met with the North Ridge Citizens Association (NRCA) on February 11, 22 and March 23 to discuss the case. NRCA submitted a letter and petition ahead of the March Planning Commission hearing, dated February 24, 2021 and included with this report, requesting that the Planning Commission defer consideration of the request. In its letter, NRCA expressed concerns about the demolition of the historic dwelling on the property, destruction of potential archaeological resources, inconsistency with the City’s Master Plan, negative impacts to neighborhood character and property values, tree canopy coverage and the subject property’s topography.
In response to NRCA concerns related to the applicant’s intended demolition of the house, staff provides that subdivision reviews are limited to the “….orderly division of land for development…” as stated in the Zoning Ordinance. Consideration of anticipated development or demolition is outside the purview of a subdivision review. Further, the dwelling is not included in the list of buildings over 100 years old that have protected status under Zoning Ordinance section 10-300. As such, it is not subject to Board of Architectural Review for alterations and demolition pursuant to Zoning Ordinance sections 10-304 and 10-305, respectively."
Despite the age of the home, according to the city staff report, "The subject property is not included on the City’s list of buildings over 100 years old. Properties on this list are subject to Board of Architectural Review for alterations pursuant to Zoning Ordinance section 10-304,” according to a city staff report."
