News

Historic panel OKs house on Third Avenue

Developer Gus Campano plans to build a 2,450-square-foot 2½-story house on Third Avenue East at Edwards Alley.

By Bill Moss, Published: October 27, 2016

Downtown Hendersonville will get its first new residential dwelling in memory if a local developer completes the proposed project he presented to a city board last week.

The city Historic Preservation Commission on Oct. 19 approved plans that Gus Campano submitted for a 2,450-square-foot 2½-story house in the 100 block of Third Avenue East just east of Edwards Alley.
“As far as I can tell it is the only purely residential building downtown,” Campano said.
Campano and his wife, Lisa, who live at 108 N. Main St. now, expect to use the new house themselves or for family members. The house, designed by architect Frank Kelsch of HomeSmith Architecture in Hendersonville, has a two-car garage, second-floor balconies on the north and east sides and a loft space on the third floor with a terrace. Building materials would be stained wood, brick veneer, acrylic veneer and natural stone with a metal roof.
“There’s no finish we use that doesn’t exist somewhere on Main Street,” Campano said. “We live on Main Street now. We know what living downtown is like.”
The Third Avenue house would be behind Tempo Music and within site of the Detours Night Club. But Campano pointed out that he lives next to the Sanctuary Brewing Co. and above Moe’s Original Barbecue now and has no problem with any of his commercial neighbors.
The job of the Historic Preservation Commission is to ensure that the downtown historic district remains intact and that new construction, signage and facades preserve the historic character. Although design guidelines adopted by the commission are meant “to ensure that the district’s architectural and material vocabulary is respected,” the guidelines also say that “compatible contemporary designs rather than historic duplications are encouraged.”
The commission voted 6-1 to issue a certificate of appropriateness for the project.
“I struggle with the compatibility,” said commission Chair Cheryl Jones, the sole no vote. “I’m just not sure it blends. It just feels out of place for the town of Hendersonville.”
Carol Sitzer, owner of the Tempo building, said the new house would make Edwards Alley very tight for delivery trucks serving businesses.
“The truckers will have to use care,” Campano acknowledged. “The construction will be a challenge. That’s no different than any construction downtown.”
He described the color scheme as “reddish with gray tones.”
“I will make sure the colors are compatible,” he said.
Because the zoning downtown permits residential construction, the project is not subject to review by the Planning Board or City Council, city planners said.