City recommends adding Magnolia House to historical district

[Bornthrilla]

Council recommends adding The Magnolia House to historical district

By Yasmine Regester, Peacemaker Staff Writer / February 9, 2023


The Greensboro City Council discussed updating the Downtown Historic District map to now include The Magnolia House, located on Gorrell Street. Council passed a resolution that will allow the updated maps to be sent to the National Register Advisory Committee for further evaluation.

District 3 Council member Zack Matheny was a no vote, citing that he did not believe that the city had done its due diligence.

“If it’s that time sensitive, council should have at least two meetings on this. Should have been brought to us in January. Did the city staff ask the question enough in which to approach the geographic region so that it could potentially be on the register, because of how The Magnolia House came to be. Did we do enough,” said Matheny.

According to Mike Cowhig, senior planner of Greensboro’s city planning department, The Magnolia House is already listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an individual property.

Properties that get listed in National Historic Districts are eligible for restoration tax credits, which then can be used to helped rehabilitate older structures. There is also a process for listing properties individually.

Read more:

www.peacemakeronline.com/council-recommends-adding-the-magnolia-house-to-historical-district/

[downoffbenbow]

I've been involved with the South Benbow Road project. The nomination will put more of a spotlight on A&T's connection to the people in the area, like architects Bill Streat and Edward Jenkins, the Gibbs family, and the civil rights protests in the '60s.

My guess is Matheny's beef with Magnolia House being added to the downtown district is its distance from the center of downtown, maybe? Or that Gorrell Street stops at MLK? I could be way off base.

[Maxell]

Feb 11, 2023 11:02:30 GMT -5 downoffbenbow said:

My guess is Matheny's beef with Magnolia House being added to the downtown district is its distance from the center of downtown, maybe? Or that Gorrell Street stops at MLK? I could be way off base.

You know why he objected. Was there an objection to expanding west of downtown?

[downoffbenbow]

To be honest Maxell, I'm not as familiar with the downtown historic district as I probably should be. I didn't know that it expanded west, and I don't know where the district's boundaries even are.

That said, I'll make it my business to keep the Blue Death message board updated with the South Benbow Road district's progress.

[Bornthrilla]

[da heretic]

Feb 11, 2023 16:46:41 GMT -5 Maxell said:

Feb 11, 2023 11:02:30 GMT -5 downoffbenbow said:

My guess is Matheny's beef with Magnolia House being added to the downtown district is its distance from the center of downtown, maybe? Or that Gorrell Street stops at MLK? I could be way off base.

You know why he objected. Was there an objection to expanding west of downtown?

And Matheny's a dickhead.

[Bornthrilla]

[aggierattler]

Jun 26, 2023 9:02:54 GMT -5 Bornthrilla said:

Thanks for Mayor Vaughn's endorsement of the value of the Magnolia House. But is the mayor supporting it being added to the Downtown Historic District??