The recent development bloom in Redwood City has put the future of several historic buildings in jeopardy. The city’s Downtown Precise Plan - designed to revitalize the downtown area - has designated 7 historic buildings as candidates for alteration, relocation or removal. And with the city not actually willing to fund the alteration, relocation, or removal of any of these structures, it is likely that most of them are destined for demolition.
City protocol dictates that before a historic structure is demolished, it must first be offered to the public at the price of $1. The catch is that after the structure is purchased, the buyer must pay to have it relocated. This is what is currently happening at a home located at 103 Wilson Street in downtown Redwood City. Starting October 20th, the house will be on the market for a period of 90 days for the price of one dollar. If no one purchases and relocates this Queen Anne Victorian house - which was built circa 1900 – the city will have it demolished to make room for a 7-story apartment complex.
The problem is that while buildings like the one at 103 Wilson Street are considered historic, they aren’t considered historic enough to be worth saving. According to Gabriel Matyiko of Expert House Movers, a company that specializes in relocating historic buildings, moving one of these structures can cost anywhere from $15,000-$40,000. Additionally, most of these homes are severely dilapidated, so even if someone did fork out the cash necessary to move the home, paying to have it brought back to code and maintained would be another huge financial undertaking. Typically, for the city to invest this amount of dough into preserving a historic building, someone of historical significance needs to have lived or done something important there. This evidently isn't the case for any of the seven structures referenced above.
But does anyone really care about these decaying buildings? After all, they're just old, crumbling, unused heaps that are taking up increasingly valuable real estate. Well, at least one city councilman has expressed concern about the removal of historic Redwood City landmarks. Councilman Ian Bain is heading a charge to create a plan that will protect these structures in the future. He says that while a new plan will probably not protect buildings already slated for demolition, it could help protect similar buildings later down the road.
There is no doubt that exciting things are happening in Redwood City. Developers are lining up at city hall seeking approval for all sorts of commercial and residential projects. And while there is a definite economic upside to the influx of all of this capital, there seems to be growing concern that it is partially at the expense of the city's culture and personality.
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