HOLLADAY, Utah — A fierce battle is unfolding in Holladay over the fate of a historic home built in 1879, which now faces the threat of demolition.
While developers have obtained approval for constructing new townhomes on the site, a passionate group of preservationists are rallying to save the home and integrate it into the project, ensuring its legacy lives on.
Kim Duffy, a Holiday resident, and preservationist, has spearheaded the preservation efforts and has been in near-constant communication with the developer for the past few weeks.
She started off by saying this two-story building is likely the only one of its kind in Holladay, adding, "It's a home that captures the imagination. It's a remnant of another time.”
The developer's renderings have received approval, but the local community is not prepared to bid farewell to the cherished home.
"This building will be torn down, and there will be 11 townhomes placed here.” She says
The primary motivation behind the preservation efforts lies in the home's history itself Duffy laments, also saying "If this building is torn down, the only history that we have will be because people like me scramble around to get it at the last minute."
Chris Jensen, another preservationist, adds, "This home is really rare and interesting... It's associated with two of the most prominent founding families of Holladay, the Andres family, and the Brinton family.”
He explained that when pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley there were very few trees or other materials to build with so pioneers first resorted to adobe homes.
The first structures were crude and very few have survived. They were usually only a few rooms and weren’t built to last.
An interesting side story is that Brigham Young himself encouraged pioneers to build structures out of adobe partially because he wasn’t sure that the Earth itself would last so early pioneers didn’t spend much time building lavish homes.
By the end of the Civil War Utahns were starting to search for better building technology and one thing made a big difference, the railroad.
Once that came to Utah and East and West were joined, structures began to really take shape.
The Brinton House, as it is known by some, stands as one of the few remaining adobe structures in the area.
Built in 1879 by Frank and Alwilda Brinton, who were among the founding families of Holladay and the Salt Lake Valley, the home holds deep ancestral connections.
The outside of the home is made using fired brick while the interior walls are adobe which is incredibly unusual and is a combination of the best building techniques of its time.
The property records reveal that the house has remained largely unchanged over the years since its construction, as Kim Duffy affirms, "If Frank Britain walked up to the building today, he would absolutely recognize this as the house they built.”
Mayor Rob Dahle acknowledges the uncertain future of the home, expressing the challenge of balancing people's passion for preservation with private property rights.
“It's just a hard issue and so there's legal pieces to it trying to balance people's passions with private property issues and how do we, how do we walk that line?” He said.
Dahle did however recognize the need to catalog historic homes in the community better, working alongside the Historical Commission and the community itself.
He suggests exploring options such as a cataloging period before demolition and potentially offering future protections.
Despite the impending demolition, there is a glimmer of hope for adaptive reuse.
Mayor Dahle revealed ongoing discussions with the developer, Sequoia Development, about potential ways to save the home.
“We're working with this current developer about, are there possible ways that we can retain that structure on the site,” He said
Architect Allen Robert, who has proposed an alternative plan, explains, "So I did another site plan and gave it to the developer as a suggestion or a proposal out of the 11 units that they had in their site plan. I kept nine of them and replaced the other two with the house and said, 'Let's just put two units in the house.”
This is what’s called adaptive reuse, in other words taking an existing structure and renovating it to fit a new need.
The property's current zoning allows for the construction of the 11 townhomes, leaving no barriers to development with the planning commission in Holladay issuing approval earlier this year.
FOX13 reached out to Alec Moffitt of Sequoia Development who added to the developer's side of the story saying “We investigated moving the home several times with different house-moving experts. It simply couldn’t be done successfully due to the design of the structure. Current zoning and costs of rehabilitating the home was not financially feasible.”
Interestingly he does on to say that through the initial processes, there was little to no pushback.
“We presented to the City and Neighbors the design of 11 new row homes. We complied with all City requirements to get the project approved including:"
- Inviting all the neighbors to a meeting held in the City Offices to discuss the project and received 100% support;
- Held two public planning commission hearings where no one spoke out or offered opposition to the project;
- Held a City Council meeting where no one spoke out in opposition of the project;
- Received 100% support on the voting by the Planning Commission and City Council;
- Worked with the City staff to comply with all requirements to receive a building permit.
He adds “It wasn’t until we were ready to start demolition and construction on the project that we started to get anonymous letters and envelopes at our offices. For weeks we did not have any idea who was in opposition.”
As for where the company stands in its final word, it’s this: “It would be great if we could save the home and still make it work financially. Unfortunately, this is not the case.”
But according to those advocating for the preservation of the house, Allen Robert's plan or a similar alternative could be just as cost-effective in the long run.
Roberts emphasizes that the feasibility of such a plan depends on the developer's interest and willingness to consider renovation options.
He believes that renovating the house would actually be an easier process, which might take a bit longer, but the end result would be a beautiful and cherished piece of architecture.
Kim Duffy, adds by using adaptive reuse instead of just tearing the structure down “it would have a cachet with this historic building that it otherwise wouldn't have if it's just 11 townhomes like 11 townhomes everywhere.”
The looming question remains: Will this home become another casualty of our housing boom?
Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain – if the home is torn down, a part of the history from which we all originate will be lost forever.
Allen Robert in closing poignantly compares the potential loss of the house to losing a parent, emphasizing the irreparable void that would be left behind.
Right now there is only one clear path forward if the community wants to keep the house intact and that is to buy the property outright.
In a final statement, Sequoia Development and Alec Mofffit said they are “Open to selling the property. If someone wants to save the home, they are welcome to make an offer to purchase, which offer would need to be acceptable to the Owner.”
As the debate over the fate of this historic home continues, it remains to be seen whether the developer and the community can find common ground to ensure the preservation of the house or if it will succumb to the pressures of development.
