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Galvin house is given deadline

Preservationists wanted it to stay put. Now they have 90 days to move it.

BRANDON - A historic Brandon home's days are numbered.

Officials at First Baptist Church of Brandon have given preservationists 90 days to move the Galvin-Jaudon house, which was built more than 100 years ago.

If a plan isn't in place at that time, the church will demolish the home to make way for a recreation center for its 5,000-member congregation.

Faced with the prospect of bulldozers moving in, Brandon Historical Association member Lisa Rodriguez said that she's ready for a compromise.

"We're going to have to look fast and hard for a location," Rodriguez said. "The main reason we got into this was to save the house. I think we should do that. We shouldn't just let it be demolished."

Rodriguez, who with her group has fought hard to keep the home at its current location, had a change of heart after the Historic Resources Review Board at its meeting Monday opted not to ask county commissioners to take emergency action and give the home landmark status.

A few relocation options remain, but some individuals have been alienated by the push to keep the house where it is. Preservationists say the location is important because it was once a focal point of the Brandon community.

One potential taker, the Bayshore Co., backed out of a contract with the church to move the house to its property on Parsons Avenue and turn it into a restaurant. Bayshore president Jim Lewis cited economic concerns and public outrage. Bayshore, though, still wants to rezone the Parsons Avenue parcel and is open to taking the home, Lewis said.

But he doesn't want to battle with the Brandon Historical Association.

"We need support and right now we're at antisupport," Lewis said.

Lela Lilyquist, owner of Nature's Health Foods in Brandon, suggests putting together a public-private partnership to buy a heavily wooded property at Parsons Avenue and Lumsden Road, currently selling for $2.3-million. The Galvin house, which was built by one of Brandon's first residents, could be moved there and the land could be turned into a park memorializing Sept. 11, 2001, she said.

When she presented her plan to the Brandon Historical Association months ago, Lilyquist said, they called her a "naysayer" for suggesting relocation.

Controversy prompted Brandon lawyer Chris Tompkins to rescind his offer to move the home.

Rodriguez said she is willing now to consider relocation.

Lilyquist's plan, however, is too expensive, Rodriguez said, and she doesn't like the Bayshore Co. proposal. She'd rather see the home turned into a history museum than a restaurant.

Several properties are for sale for less than $200,000 in the vicinity of the home, Rodriguez said. If the 1,500 people who signed a petition defending the Galvin-Jaudon house come together, they could raise enough money to buy the property and move and restore the home, she said.

Rodriguez said Wednesday she would present her ideas at the Brandon Historical Association's next meeting. But Byron Dean, the group's president, said he still had no interest in moving the house.

Church officials have been talking to Lilyquist about her plan, but the Rev. Tommy Green said he will work with anyone who comes forward with a concept.

First Baptist Church bought the property at 201 Victoria St. in July 2002. The church based its purchase on a decision by the Historic Resources Review Board not to pursue landmark status for the structure.

When preservationists heard the old house was in danger of being destroyed, they tried several times to get the county to make it a landmark. But the county refused to reverse its ruling for fear of lawsuits.

If the structure was given the designation, the church would have to show economic hardship to tear it down.

Church officials all along have said they were happy to have someone move the home, but preservationists resisted that approach.

Parviz Moosavi, who oversees the county's preservation efforts, said that from the beginning he was worried that pushing to keep the house at its current location would doom the structure.

"The last thing I wanted was for the building to be demolished," Moosavi said.

- Janet Zink can be reached at 661-2441 or jzink@sptimes.com