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.r <br />5/14/92 <br />ADDENDUM TO STAFF REPORT <br />Upon further consideration, the staff asserts that the demolition <br />of e green house at 1326 LWE would not necessarily be <br />detrimental to the historic fabric of the Lincolnway East Local <br />Historic District on the whole. Expanding on a concession <br />presented in the original staff report (5/11/92), the building's <br />architectural details, massing, and overall -appearance are not <br />compatible with the other buildings in the district. The <br />counter argument made in the initial report was that this <br />"'uniqueness" was an asset to the district. Upon reassessment <br />the staff concedes that the visual and architectural contribution <br />of the green house to the Lincolnway East streetscape is <br />predominantly negative. <br />The primary contributing element, the front Art Deco style <br />portico, has lost much of its integrity through deterioration and <br />subsequently detracts from the visual quality of the district as <br />a whole rather than contributing to it. The building's other <br />elements, such as the atypically high, poured concrete <br />foundation, the plastic covered window openings with a heavy <br />horizontal emphasis, and the sub -standard quality of the wood <br />board siding, are discordant with the nature of the rest of the <br />built environment in the district. <br />However, the value of green house to the specific site, i.e. the <br />relation between the residence and the greenhouse as cited in the <br />staff report, should still be considered. To reiterate, the <br />greenhouse and adjacent residence form a valuable resource: an <br />expression of the integration of business and private life in the <br />early twentieth century. Only a handful of such examples remain <br />intact within the City of South Bend. <br />The staff recommends further research'nto the possibility of <br />adaptive reuse before demolition is considered. Adequate <br />rehabilitation of the building could serve both the owner and the <br />district in a positive fashion. <br />In any case, the owner, Youth Service Bureau, has not adequately <br />dequately <br />expressed subsequent treatment of the site after demolition. <br />Such future plans should be obtained and considered with regards <br />to the appropriateness of demolition. <br />James V. Pastor <br />Staff, Historic Preservation <br />