Volusia County puts up money to save part of local history

PHOTOS COURTESY VOLUSIA COUNTY
Historic home — Without waiting for its usual season to dispense grants for cultural and historical sites, Volusia County is giving a Daytona Beach group funds to save Lilian Place from pests and neglect. Just in time for Christmas, the County Council approved a grant of $425,595 from the Volusia ECHO program for the Heritage Preservation Trust to buy the home, which was built in 1884.

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jan 8, 2010 - 9:35:32am

Volusia County is joining with a private organization to save a piece of Daytona Beach history.

In December, the County Council agreed to help preserve Lilian Place, a beachside house built 125 years ago, by committing money to help the Heritage Preservation Trust buy the property for restoration and future public use.

"I think anything we can do to save our history, we should do it," Council Member Pat Northey said.

Lilian Place is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places, but the property is in danger of being lost to the ravages of time, weather and neglect. The bed-and-breakfast is now vacant, and termites and wood rot threaten its survival.

"The first thing to do is to get rid of the termites," said Nancy Long, president of the Heritage Preservation Trust, the nonprofit group founded in 2006 to promote saving local landmarks. "The first thing to do is to stabilize the building."

The Historic Preservation Trust took title to Lilian Place Dec. 29.

The site is one that could be ideal for the development of condominiums, if the home becomes unsalvageable. Long said the Heritage Preservation Trust would like to restore Lilian Place to its former grandeur and make it a public meeting place and museum.

"We would like to get this open as soon as possible," she said.

The council unanimously agreed to appropriate $423,595 from the Volusia ECHO program. ECHO is an acronym for environmental, cultural, historical and outdoor recreation assets, and the ECHO program provides money from a special voter-approved tax fund to help cities, the county government itself, or private, tax-exempt organizations with projects in those four categories.

Under the ECHO program, qualifying nonprofit agencies or local governments may apply for grants for acquisition, capital improvements, construction, or restoration projects. The ECHO Advisory Committee, a nine-member panel appointed by the County Council, screens and ranks the requests and makes recommendations to the council.

The County Council normally awards ECHO grants in March, but the council earlier this year amended its policy to allow off-season grants for certain projects. The new ECHO Emergency Historic Acquisition and Stabilization Program may be used for projects "deemed by the County Council to be of critical public importance and ... endangered by immediate development," as noted in an official summary. The council approved the grant for Heritage Preservation Trust to purchase the home on a short sale from the Bank of America.

Located at 111 Silver Beach Ave., Lilian Place was built in 1884. It is an example of Italianate Victorian architecture, characterized by square towers, tall windows and verandas. Lilian Place had a rather famous visitor, Stephen Crane. Besides writing his Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Crane stayed at Lilian Place to recover from a shipwreck ordeal that he described in a short story titled "The Open Boat."

Lilian Place may not survive without quick action, according to the application filed by the Heritage Preservation Trust. Long said the home will probably have to be tented and treated to eradicate the termites.

"It will not be cheap," Long said.

The full cost of repairing and rehabilitating Lilian Place will be $200,000 to $300,000, said Margaret Hodge, coordinator of the Volusia ECHO program.

"The initiative will take about five years," Hodge said.

Heritage Preservation Trust will work to raise funds for the restoration of Lilian Place, once the group owns the property.

Before the County Council approved the ECHO grant for Lilian Place, some members expressed concerns about the future of the property.

"I don't want the county to own a building that it has to maintain, if it reverts to the county," Vice Chair Joie Alexander said.

ECHO Advisory Committee member Gary Libby said Lilian Place is really no different from other ECHO projects.

"You could ask that question about any project," Libby told the council. "What happens if the Gateway Center goes south and the county gets it back? Do we bulldoze it and make it into a parking lot?"

Long is already working to raise private funds to repair and restore Lilian Place. The Heritage Preservation Trust will stage "the Lilian Place kickoff" at 6 p.m. Jan. 9, at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Daytona Beach. The event will be the beginning of solicitations of money and in-kind assistance, including volunteer labor.

"I believe the community will be supportive," Long told The Beacon. "I'm expecting to get a lot of people that will help."

The terms of the ECHO grant stipulate Lilian Place must be open to the public no later than 48 months after the grant is awarded.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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