The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page L11

Real Estate The Sun Sunday, June 16, 2002: Page 11l Big development threatens refuge in Virgin Islands Resort complex planned for Botany Bay, old Corning retreat By Jim Day ASSOCIATED PRESS ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS This 1915 home in Oakwood, Ohio, owned by Andy and Mary Pruitt, and is one of the historic homes that the Oakwood Preservation Trust wants to protect from future demolition or development. Preserving houses preserves history Dayton suburb built before 1940 takes steps to protect its heritage By Debra Gaskill ASSOCIATED PRESS government is $1 billion in debt. "If we don't have private development, we're not going to make it economically," said Amadeo Francis, former director of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority. Construction alone would pump $62 million in wages into the Virgin Islands and $42 million would be spent on materials on the island, according to documents from the developers. Environmentalists worry about what could be lost.

Ancient petroglyphs Botany Bay contains petroglyphs from the Ostionoid Indians, who inhabited the area 1,400 years ago, and there is a ceremonial site that was used by Taino Indians in pre-Columbian days. The property also holds a relatively intact abandoned sugar plantation, including a sugar mill and slave quarters, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. "Certainly no other property on the island of St. Thomas contains such a diverse area and has been less affected by development in the past 50 years," said Eleanor Gibney, a botanist. The area is a refuge for deer and a nesting ground for sea turtles.

It also has some of the healthiest coral reefs around St. Thomas. The land was owned for decades as a family retreat for the heirs of the Corning kitchen-ware empire, but Botany Bay Partners bought it last year. The Corning heirs thought the resort project would be much smaller, family attorney Edith Bornn told a recent public hearing. "The buyers informed us that their intentions were to develop a very limited number of luxury homes, on large lots, keeping traffic to a minimum.

It now appears the new owners were misleading us all through the negotiations," said a letter Bornn read from Paul Corning, grandson of industrialist Warren Corning. Local Sen. Adlah Donastorg has appealed to the federal Department of the Interior to help preserve the land. "In the long term, preserving this area in its natural splendor will provide greater social and economic benefits than a resort development ever could," Donastorg wrote to the department. The Senate has rezoned the property from residential to commercial use, a first step that allowed developers to apply for building permits.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands It stands apart from the sprawl of T-shirt stands, souvenir shops and pastel-colored hotels, a swath of untouched land that is home to Indian ruins. The 360 acres surrounding Botany Bay on the western end of St. Thomas island has long been a refuge from the clamor of Charlotte Amalie, one of the busiest cruise ports in the region. But the spot could become the home to a resort complex with 125 hotel rooms, 80 time-share apartments and 55 condominiums.

'Save Botany Bay' That prospect has stirred up environmentalists, pitting them against the cash-strapped government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. "Save Botany Bay" bumper stickers can be seen across the island. "We keep putting economics first," said Caroline Brown of the Environmental Association of St. Thomas.

"We must take a more active role, or we're going to find ourselves living in a concrete jungle." Botany Bay Partners, the group that wants to develop the land, says the project would bring jobs to the island, which like others in the Caribbean, has suffered economically since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks dampened vacation travel. The developers are promising to maintain the archaeological sites as an educational center, and say they will take measures to mitigate erosion, sewage discharge and pollution caused by any structures built. "It is a tremendous amount of jobs that will be created on an ongoing basis," said Alain Longatte, president and chief executive of Botany Bay Partners. "It's going to have a great impact on the economy." If the developers get the zoning permits approved, the hotel could open by next year.

Other parts of the complex would be finished in 15 years. Gov. Charles Turnbull's economic advisers point to the $169 million project as a sign of better economic times ahead for the U.S. territory, whose local J- Andy Pruitt, active in preservation issues, sits beneath the stained glass skylight of his 87-year-old Spanish-style arts-and-crafts home in Oakwood, Ohio. This central space has a working fountain and opens into all the rooms on the first floor.

Home preservation advice When plans surfaced to demolish the 1930s-era Tudor-style city building, the OPT found itself with another fight on its hands. A public meeting was held in December, 2000; more than 50 residents showed up, despite a raging winter storm, to express their concern that the building not be demolished. "We even had yard signs that said 'Save our City said Debra Edwards. It was something that showed how deeply the normally reticent residents felt about the building. "City council worked with OPT on successfully saving the city building," said Risley.

"They were very receptive to our concerns, which seemed to be the concerns of much of the community." As a result, plans for the city building will include many of OPT's and the community's suggestions to preserve its unique character. And Oakwood politics have changed, too. "In the last election, virtually all of the city council candidates mentioned preservation in their campaigns, and some did very well as a result," Risley said. For Andy Pruitt, an unsuccessful candidate, restoration and preservation is a way of life. Pruitt is restoring his Spanish-style arts-and-crafts home to its former glory.

Built in 1915 by Charles and Anne Schaeffer, founders of what would become Dayton Building Supply, the home remained in the family until the mid-1970s, when it was sold. When Pruitt and his wife, Mary, bought the house three years ago, "it hadn't been touched in 20 years," he said. Walls and woodwork had been painted white and a modern kitchen installed. Restoration has been a full-time job for Pruitt since purchasing the house. He often finds himself working with a respirator because of the fumes.

He scours the Internet and other sources for authentic replacements, such as the Steuben chandelier and light fixtures in the dining room. "All this work is so meticulous," he said. The showpiece of the home is the center atrium, which boasts a Tiffany-style lamp in the middle of a working Rookwood tile fountain with a stained glass ceiling skylight. Pruitt enclosed the front porch and added leaded glass to match the atrium. He installed bronze weather-stripping in the doors and windows.

The couple are also zealously searching for mission and arts and crafts antiques to furnish the home. Although the renovation is a long way from complete, much of the home's dark mahogany woods and tiger oak parquet floors have been lovingly restored, using old-style linseed oil-based stains and varnishes. "The good thing about these stains is that one coat covers it all and they never peel," Pruitt said. "Instead, they age very gracefully." "These original components were designed to last for generations," he said. "Modern replacements would last at most a couple of decades and would detract immeasurably from the beauty of the house." Modern replacement items, particularly windows, are a sore subject for Gannon as well.

"You wouldn't believe the number of bad window replacements I've seen and the increased use of aluminum siding on some of these homes," Gannon said. "A Lawyer's dedication restores plantation OAKWOOD, Ohio With over half of all homes in this exclusive Dayton suburb built before 1940, preservation has become both a pet project of home-owners and a political rallying cry for a group of area citizens. Situated south of Dayton, Oakwood is the favored residence of many of the area's movers and shakers and has been for nearly 100 years. Native son Orville Wright's majestic home, Hawthorne Hill, with its two-story classic revival columns and winding drive, sits in the heart of Oakwood, surrounded by examples of Georgian, Tudor, mission and arts-and-crafts styles of architecture. There are so many pristine examples 3,900 by one count that Oakwood is one of "only a handful of communities in the country where the whole town is eligible for historic registration," according to Glenn Harper, field service coordinator for the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.

Walter Estate gone In August 1999, a Georgian revival estate known as the Wal-ther Estate was purchased and then demolished to make room for a more modern structure. A group of residents saw this as a potential threat to Oakwood's other historic homes and decided to do something about it. Forming the Oakwood Preservation Trust, this group began the arduous and some might say uphill task of protecting Oakwood's historic homes and educating residents. Oakwood is known for its tough property maintenance code but has no historic preservation legislation, unlike surrounding communities such as Dayton and Centerville, according to Loren Gannon, professor of architecture and history at the University of Dayton and an Oakwood resident. OPT members recall an incident when a resident had to tear down a newly constructed fence because it was an inch over the city's required height limit.

"I'm some ways, we're over-regulated," said Marlene Maimon, a founding member of the group. "It's harder to put up a new fence than it is to tear down an old home." "There has long been a 'natural' preservation movement people restoring their own homes, new homes being designed to fit into the surrounding neighborhoods," said OPT member Mark Risley. "When we first started out, I thought we were the voice of a small group of concerned citizens. I now realize we've been expressing the concerns of many Oakwood residents, perhaps a majority." The group's first two years were spent addressing demolitions in the community, with minimal success, Risley said. Trace Home demolished Another architecturally significant home, the Trace Home, built in the Queen Anne style, reportedly by National Cash Register founder John Patterson, was purchased by NCR early in 2000 and fell to the wrecking ball on Nov.

13, 2000, despite OPT efforts. NCR also owns Hawthorne Hill. A third home's demolition also was deemed a "travesty" by OPT member Nick Gough. A visit to Dewberry, built in 1852, is a walk through history Andy Pruitt of Oakwood Ohio, has these suggestions for restoring a historic home: Establish a realistic time frame. Proper restoration takes a lot of time.

Prioritize jobs. Start by stabilizing ongoing problems, such as structural issues, roof leaks and encroaching plants and trees. Learn as much as possible before and during the process from professionals as well as neighbors. "We discovered that our neighbor had saved the original garage door from our house which was thrown out many years ago by the previous owners," said Pruitt. He also recommends finding the community's network of local restoration people and talking to them frequently.

"Most local contractors do not understand restoration. Find ones that do," Pruitt advises. "Watch and learn when they do their work, then you can continue the project yourself." Blueprints for your house may be available from a local archive or from the Old House Journal Restoration Directory. Whenever possible, repair original elements rather than replace them. If you must replace, do so with materials and style consistent with the original architecture.

This will give a more aesthetic as well as durable result. Items that should never be replaced include slate and tile roofs, wooden windows, wood siding and copper gutters and flashing. By Rebecca Rodriguez FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM way to the more lavish homes in Louisiana plantation country. Dewberry, a veteran of the War of 1812, built the first cotton gin in the county. He developed a good relationship with the Cherokee Nation and was appointed by the newly formed Texas Legislature to help draw the county lines and locate the county seat.

He built his 2-story home, large by the day's standards, on 22,000 acres that straddled Smith and Cherokee counties. He started construction in 1852 and completed it two years later. The main house was called "Myrtle-Vale" because of the large crape myrtle trees leading up to the home. The same trees are still standing. The home has retained much of its original handiwork.

The bricks leading up to the house are original and the cypress beams date back to 1852. Inside the stately home, original burnished, pine floors gleam and light streams in through the tall windows in every room. The Dewberry home is constructed in the Greek Revival style, which means that the structure is symmetrical. Bergfeld considers it his duty to be historically accurate in his renovation of the home. For example, the walls in the parlor have been papered in an 1840s reproduction of a design found in a Virginia home of the same era.

Although the home still needs furniture, paintings and a few other touches, it looks largely as it would have on the day Dewberry completed it. TYLER, Texas From the aged bricks on the pathway to the sturdy cypress columns peeking through a canopy of 150-year-old trees, a visit to Dewberry is a walk through history. The plantation home south of Tyler was built in 1852 by Col. John Dewberry, a Georgia native who moved to Smith County in 1835. The property passed to the Edwards family of Kansas in 1908.

Ninety years later, Tyler attorney Andy Bergfeld bought the property and has spent the past several years researching and restoring the home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bergfeld has consulted regularly with the U.S. Department of Interior on changes made to the house. Although he has spent his own time, money and energy on the restoration project, Bergfeld said Dewberry is a piece of Texas history that should be protected and respected by all. "It's not about me," Bergfeld said.

"It's about whether I can pull this off so that 150 years from now, people can come here and see what life was like back then." Dewberry opened to the public on Jan. 1 and is the first restored plantation home on the ber of architecturally significant homes, you should have an obligation to maintain them." Although OPT members would like to see legislation changed to include historic preservation, education looks to be the biggest weapon in their arsenal. The group has held a walking tour of homes and will continue to speak on preservation issues whenever possible. Gannon has University of Dayton student volunteers walking through Oakwood, doing an inventory of "whole streets of homes" which are architecturally significant. While the group says they do not oppose all demolitions, OPT still hopes to avoid the "McMansions" that are cropping up after a home is demolished.

"Look at Charleston, S.C., Savannah, and even Marietta, Ohio," said Maimon. "What makes them of value? Because they've maintained their identity they've maintained their soul." double-hung sash window is energy-efficient if properly maintained and used with a storm window." Homeowners who are considering restoration should look at the originals when at all possible, say both Gannon and Pruitt. And just because a home may look awful doesn't mean it should meet the wrecking ball, Gannon said. "There may be cosmetic problems, but it may not look awful to a trained eval-uator." Still, there are those who feel that the OPT is treading on the feet of private property owners or trying to extend Oakwood's perceived elitism, something trust members deny. "This is not an elitist organization.

We gain nothing from this," said OPT member Anna Gough. "It's just an attempt to get people to maintain their homes." "You have a certain responsibility to your neighbors," said Nick Gough. "And with the num.