Modern homes in Phoenix historic districts causing rift, and now, no one's happy

Jessica Boehm
The Republic | azcentral.com
A rendering of a modern home proposed for the Coronado Historic District. Neighbors who believe the house does not match the community’s character plan to ask the City Council to quash the design.

Historic preservation typically conjures images of activists standing in front of wrecking balls or rallying at city meetings to fight against the demolition of decades-old structures.

What happens when preservationists have to weigh in on the new? 

With the resurgence of Phoenix's downtown historic neighborhoods, people are buying up vacant lots and constructing new homes in the middle of these protected districts, provoking neighbors, architects and preservationists to weigh in on what these new builds should look like.

Some believe the new homes should mirror the architecture of the surrounding historic homes. Others say they should feature modern design to separate them from the vintage homes.

City, state and federal guidelines on the matter do little to resolve the conflict as they seemingly contradict themselves — calling for new builds to be distinguishable from, yet compatible with, surrounding historic structures.

"It's been challenging, I'll say that, just because everybody has an idea of what's appropriate," Phoenix Historic Preservation Officer Michelle Dodds said. 

Dodds said her office has seen a spike in applications for new builds in historic districts — particularly the Coronado and Garfield neighborhoods  —  and expects many more this year. 

Coronado dispute

A home built in 1830 in the Historic Coronado District in Phoenix.

A recent fight over a new home in the Coronado neighborhood illustrates the broader dispute over how the community should develop.

A couple purchased a vacant piece of property in the neighborhood near 12th and Oak streets and hired well-known real estate agent and designer Joel Contreras to design a home on the site.

According to renderings, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house would feature a sleek, modern design with a slanted shed roof that ascends from 9 feet at its lowest point to 12 feet at its highest. 

Contreras said the owners haven't yet settled on a color, but it likely will be either white or charcoal. Clerestory windows will wrap around the house in a thin band above eye level.

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The city's historic preservation office, after some tweaking to the initial design, approved Contreras' plan.

But when a neighbor caught wind of the proposed design, he appealed the city staff's decision to the Historic Preservation Commission, provoking a 1½-hour debate at a recent meeting.

"When (a modern home is) in a historic district, it contrasts so drastically that it takes the attention away from the historic homes to that house," said architect and Coronado resident Arthur Vigil, who appealed the decision.

Most things about the proposed home stray from the rows of bungalows and cottages that make up the Coronado District, but opponents' biggest issue was the lack of a front porch and front-facing windows, as well as the roof design. 

Faux history vs. extreme modernism

A newly built home is pictured in the Coronado Historic District on Feb. 18, 2018.

The conflict between Contreras and Vigil — both self-described preservationists — centers on whether new builds in historic neighborhoods should mimic what's already there or stand apart.

Kevin Weight, a planner with the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office, said the city's design guidelines — which align with the U.S. Secretary of Interior's standards — are somewhat contradictory, but the city tries to land somewhere in the middle on "compatible" and "distinguishable."

"You have this whole spectrum that preservationists have debated for years: Should new construction, whether it's an infill home or an addition, be more compatible with existing or more distinguishable so it's not confused as faux historic?" Weight said.

Contreras said designing new homes that look nearly identical to the existing structures actually devalues the historic structures. He said this phenomenon occurred in Tombstone and it robbed the town of its authentic charm.

"There's a false notion by most people that in a historic district you're not supposed to build anything modern. That's not true. It's actually encouraged," Contreras said.

He's coined his viewpoint "innovative preservation."

"I'm a huge preservationist. I was just never scared of doing something more modern with infill," Contreras said. 

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Vigil disagrees. He said longtime residents of the district bought into it expecting that it would be upheld as unique and cohesive.

"What is the context of place that we're trying to preserve? Why have a district? The district boundary outlines are intended to protect this area within these bounds as a sense of place of bungalows and cottages from various ages and styles," he said.

City's guidelines cause confusion

A rendering of a modern home proposed for the Coronado Historic District. Neighbors who believe the house does not match the community’s character plan to ask the City Council to quash the design.

Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer Kathryn Leonard said in an interview that the Secretary of Interior's guidelines are nebulous, but cities should resolve the confusion by adopting clear design guidelines for each historic district. 

"One of the challenges of historic preservation is striking that balance between appropriateness and distinctness," Leonard said.

Vigil said Phoenix's design guidelines don't provide the necessary clarity and should be revised to make clear that compatibility is more important than differentiation. 

"Then it would be clear and there wouldn't be this sort of ambiguity or uncertainty," Vigil said.

Vigil said in his travels to other cities with renowned historic neighborhoods like Santa Fe or Santa Barbara, he's never seen modern homes tucked into protected districts.

Keep historic districts as they are

About a half-dozen residents of Phoenix historic districts spoke in support of Vigil's appeal. 

Most of them reiterated the same notion: Why build a modern home here, where it will perturb existing residents, when it could be built elsewhere?

"I don't want to see the historic charm of our neighborhoods given up to ultra-modern, shockingly different homes that could be built basically anywhere in the Valley. I don't know why they have to be built in our neighborhood. I love modern, too, but historic districts aren't the places for modern, I don't believe," Joan Gresch said.

Vigil said the addition of new projects in the neighborhood has left the neighbors at odds with one another and uncertain that the community's historic designation will continue. 

"Is (the owner's) right to do something different more important than the right of the neighborhood to preserve the sense of place?" Vigil said in an interview.

New additions replace blighted lots

A vacant lot is pictured in the Coronado Historic District on Feb. 18, 2018.

There are Coronado residents who disagree with Vigil's position and welcome new homes and businesses in the neighborhood.

Patrick Jordan, a real estate agent and board member of the Coronado Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood has only improved as new additions replace once vacant and blighted lots. He moved into the neighborhood about 10 years ago and has sold houses in the area for five.

"One of the goals of the city and historic preservation is to have these neighborhoods revitalized, and the infill really helps a lot with that," Jordan said. 

He also noted that Coronado is different than other historic districts because it was built over several decades and includes apartment complexes and businesses mixed in with single-family homes. This makes the district more open to modern additions.

"The touchstone for Coronado is its diversity," Jordan said.

No one's happy

The Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission was also split on its interpretation of the neighborhood's design guidelines.

It ultimately decided to deny Vigil's appeal, but also require Contreras to make two tweaks to his design to include windows on the front of the house and a front porch.

The decision left both camps unhappy. 

Contreras said it's "very discouraging for a designer" to have the commission force additional features on an existing design. 

"You should say 'yes' or 'no,'" he said.

Vigil is planning to appeal the decision to the Phoenix City Council.

"When I look at Phoenix, what does this place want to be? We have historic districts in place to preserve a sense of place. If we're going to have these infills, it's creating chaos," he said.