Danville Preservation League

Protect or Demolish

Register & Bee staff writer

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Gate No. 3 remains chained Wednesday on the Long Mill property in Danville. Richard T. Davis (Register & Bee)

The city manager says it’s time for Long Mill developers to “fish or cut bait.”

Danville City Manager Jerry Gwaltney said Wednesday that he’s had two meetings with the developers over the past year to discuss options for the property.

The Long Mill Group, a conglomerate of six area businessmen, has to either install an adequate fire suppression system so the complex meets the city’s fire code or tear the buildings down.

“We continue to go through the dilemma of dealing with the fact the Long Mill property has to be demolished or protected with a fire system,” Long Mill Group partner Ben Davenport said Wednesday. “The city’s fire code is what it is and we have been looking at all of our options.”

Davenport and Long Mill Group partners Rick Barker, Richard Carlton, Ben Davenport, Hal Craddock, Doug Dalton and Charles Mantooth had planned to renovate the former Dan River Inc. property into condominiums, restaurants and museum space.

Davenport said the Long Mill Group must decide whether to spend “north of $1 million” to install the fire suppression system that would bring it up to code or it could tear down all 13 of the buildings on the 28-acre property it spent $578,500 to buy in February 2002.

‘MINIMAL STEPS’

Danville Fire Chief David Eagle said he knew the cost of installing a fire suppression system could be prohibitive, especially because the buildings were gutted and any new renovations would likely require the group to install a new system.

Eagle said he tried to work out a deal with the developers in June 2006.

“They had several issues we brought to their attention and the ownership took minimal steps to address them,” Eagle said.

Davenport then met with Gwaltney to discuss the Long Mill Group’s plans to list the property on Sotheby’s International Realty for a period of nine months.

The Long Mill Group agreed to install a new fence and seal off any access points to the complex’s buildings to prevent people from entering the property. The group also agreed to build an access road and install two fire hydrants.

Eagle said the work met the intent of the fire code, which is to protect the city’s residents and the city’s buildings from a fire. The work, however, did not comply with the fire code itself, he said.

“They’re meeting what we spelled out were the minimum requirements for them,” Eagle said, adding the agreement also came with a timeline.

Under the agreement, if the Long Mill Group was unable to find someone to purchase the property by Nov. 30, 2006, it would start accepting bids to demolish the complex no later than March 15 of this year.

“There was a time limit on that letter,” Eagle said. “When that time ran out, we went to (the Long Mill Group) and asked what was up.”

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Gwaltney said he received a call from the Long Mill Group and a demolition consultant once the March deadline passed. He then gathered together a group of architects and city employees for an informal planning meeting on the Long Mill property on April 26.

“We met in my conference room and answered any questions (the developers) had,” Gwaltney said. “Anything they wanted to know.”

Carlton and a representative from Vintage B.P., the demolition firm hired by the Long Mill Group, were at the meeting, according to a copy of the minutes.

Gwaltney said the meeting focused on what type of permits Vintage would need to acquire for the job. The meeting also focused on identifying where the complex’s utility lines were so they would not be damaged by the project.

The city agreed to mark the complex’s utility lines and is working with Dewberry architects to draft an erosion and sediment control plan needed for the property, Gwaltney said.

Though no demolition permits have been issued for the property, the complex’s fate still remains uncertain.

“At some point they’ve either got to fish or cut bait,” Gwaltney said. “It is for them to determine what to do with the property and not me. They can do whatever they want so long as it complies with the city code.”

Group says city government poses biggest threat to sites

By MAC McLEAN

Register & Bee staff writer

Friday, May 25, 2007

The entire city of Danville is endangered, at least in the eyes of preservationists.

The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities has added Danville - all 43.9 square miles of it - to the organization’s 2007 list of “Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.”

The announcement came Thursday as the APVA announced it was adding Dan River Inc.’s former Long Mill Complex and the Danville General Hospital to its list of endangered historic sites.

The Worsham Street Bridge and the Schoolfield Mill Complex also have been added to this list over the past two years.

“After having looked back over the past two years, the APVA took the initiative to put the city on the list,” said Carla Minosh with the Danville Preservation League. “Being on the list helps raise awareness that certain sites are in danger.”

Minosh said the city government presented the greatest threat to Danville’s historic places. She described how city officials had tried to keep the Danville General Hospital building’s owner from working on the property because it was unsafe.

Minosh also accused the city of working to tear down the Long Mill Building behind closed doors after plans to renovate it fell through. Assistant City Manager Lyle Lacy said the city had no control over the Long Mill building’s fate because it “was under private ownership.”

APVA spokeswoman Terry Graham said her group also had seen a pattern when it came to historic properties in Danville and the state of Virginia as a whole.

The group also added the city of Norfolk’s Downtown Norfolk Historic District and Fredericksburg’s Old and Historic Fredericksburg District to its list of endangered historic sites this year.

“There are a number of historic resources that are threatened by the very localities that they are in,” Graham said. “Government officials do not see the value of preserving historic sites. Those in a position of power need to look at the economic value of preserving those properties.”

Endangered Historic Sites Run Gamut from Cities to Historic Wooden Windows

APVA Preserve Virginia

Press Release

May 24, 2007

What do the cities of Norfolk, Danville, and Fredericksburg have in common? The cities themselves or the historic districts in them have been designated to the list of the Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia for 2007. APVA Preservation Virginia President William B. Kerkam, III, and its Executive Director Elizabeth S. Kostelny announced the eleven designees at a press conference held on Thursday morning in Danville at Main Street Methodist Church, a building not designated to the list but nonetheless at risk. The entire city of Danville, however, has been named one of the Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia.

At APVA:   Read the full Press Release     View Endangered Sites 2007 (pdf)

Residents speak out to save bridge

By MAC McLEAN

Register & Bee staff writer

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Martha Chukinas kissed a comment form expressing her desire to save the Worsham Street Bridge before she dropped it in a wooden box at a public hearing Tuesday night at O.T. Bonner Middle School.

The city and the state plan to demolish the dilapidated structure, closed for safety reasons in the summer of 2004.

“There’s been enough damage done to the city of Danville and its heritage,” said Chukinas, who feels the city’s history and architecture are what truly makes the city unique.

The Worsham Street Bridge could be described as an example of both qualities.

Built in 1928 as a way to funnel traffic into what is now Danville’s Tobacco Warehouse District, the bridge’s long spans and open spandrels are considered emblematic of Indiana-based architect Daniel P. Luten’s work.

But concerns about the bridge’s safety date back almost as far as its construction. Dan River Mills Riverside Division’s superintendent of shops shared his concerns about the bridge’s overall safety in a June 1949 letter he wrote to city officials. Apparently a portion of the bridge’s concrete railing fell in an area he planned to use as a parking lot for his company’s No. 6 Cotton Mill.

Nearly five decades later, in July 2004, City Manager Jerry Gwaltney ordered that the bridge be closed to all traffic.

After hearing from two architects about the bridge’s condition and future, Danville City Council unanimously approved plans to tear down the bridge that October.

Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Paula Jones said Tuesday’s hearing was the latest step in that process. The agency needs to get a special permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to build a cofferdam across the Dan River to start the $4.8 million demolition project.

Since the Worsham Street Bridge is a candidate for the National Register of Historic Places, the corps of engineers needs to gather information from the public about alternatives to tearing the bridge down and whether those alternatives are feasible.

VDOT estimates that repairing the bridge so it could again be used for vehicular traffic could cost as much as $14.2 million and another $166,000 each year for maintenance.

The bridge’s concrete would still be porous and it would still have non-epoxy coated reinforcing steel, according to VDOT officials.

Another alternative for the bridge’s future is converting the structure into a pedestrian bridge. This project is estimated to cost $9.1 million. Since pedestrian bridges do not qualify for VDOT maintenance funds, the estimated $105,000 needed each year to maintain the bridge would have to come from city tax dollars.

Chukinas and Alice Saunders, both members of area preservationist group Friends of the Worsham Street Bridge, offered a third alternative Tuesday night. They argued the city and VDOT could shore up the bridge’s southern section and convert it into an overlook since it is the highest point on the Dan River.

“It would be nice and it might satisfy everybody involved,” Saunders said, adding the overlook could serve as a place for a sidewalk cafe and help bring people downtown. “You can’t beat charm in a town.”

Jones said that she has heard several comments from people interested in saving the bridge, but she also has heard from people with other viewpoints.

“One gentleman expressed his feelings that there were enough bridges in Danville,” Jones said.

People have 10 days to send their comments about the Worsham Street Bridge to VDOT’s Chatham Residency Office, P.O. Box 309, Chatham, VA 24531.

Jones said the timing of the demolition project depends largely on the amount of information VDOT receives during the public comment period. The agency expects to get the right-of-way it needs in September and hopes to solicit bids for the demolition in late 2008.

Bridge's fate on shaky ground

By Mac McLEAN

Register & Bee staff writer

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Area residents will have the chance to share their thoughts concerning the River City’s most hotly debated structure Tuesday.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is scheduled to host a public hearing to discuss plans to demolish the Worsham Street Bridge.

VDOT will host the event, set to take place at O.T. Bonner Middle School from 4 to 7 p.m., to gather feedback from the community about the proposed $4.8 million project. The agency needs this information so it can apply for a special building permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Built in 1928 as a way to funnel traffic into what is now Danville’s Historic Tobacco Warehouse District, the bridge’s long spans and open spandrels are considered emblematic of Indiana-based architect Daniel P. Luten’s work.

But the structure’s condition has slowly deteriorated over the past several years according to city officials.

City Manager Jerry Gwaltney ordered the Worsham Street Bridge be permanently closed in July 2004 citing concerns about its overall safety and a possible risk it posed to vehicles and pedestrians traveling under the structure.

The Danville City Council heard from two engineers - Wayne Schwartz and Abba Lichtenstein - as they debated the bridge’s fate during an August 2004 work session.

Schwartz, who spent 40 years working as a VDOT bridge inspector, recommended tearing down the bridge because he felt it was structurally unsound. Hired by the Danville historic preservationist group Friends of the Worsham Street Bridge in the fall of 2003, Lichtenstein recommended keeping the bridge intact and converting it into a pedestrian bridge for community residents.

VDOT had estimated the cost of tearing down the bridge to be $3.9 million at the time. Schwartz said at the hearing that it would cost the city $7.5 million to convert the bridge to pedestrian use and as much as $17.5 million to fully repair the bridge.

Council unanimously voted in favor of tearing down the bridge in October 2004. The structure made the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities “Most Endangered Properties List” in May 2005.

Set to acquire all the money it needs to complete the bridge’s demolition by 2012, VDOT is in the process of applying for an Army Corps of Engineers permit to build a temporary causeway needed for the project that crosses the Dan River.

Since the bridge is a candidate for the National Register of Historic Places, federal authorities must consult with members of the community, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to see whether it is possible to avoid tearing down the bridge because demolishing the structure will have a negative impact on its historic character.

VDOT will continue its public comment period for 10 days after Tuesday’s hearing. People unable to make the hearing can send written comments to VDOT’s Chatham Residency Office at P.O. Box 309, Chatham, Va. 24531.

VDOT will review the public comments throughout the month of May. It is scheduled to start purchasing the right of way needed for the demolition project in September and hopes to advertise bids for the project in late 2008.