The Northrup-Warren house’s days are numbered.
The 93-year-old house, which was the subject of a protest last summer by those hoping to see the Tudor-style brick home saved, will be demolished in the coming days, Jan Knewtson confirmed.
Knewtson is president of the Friends of the Bowlus, which owns the house and property on which it sits.
Crews began removing doors, windows and other items from the home this week.
A demolition permit signed with the city gives crews six months to complete the demolition.
It will occur much quicker than that, Knewtson said.
The Friends plan is to have the home removed to allow for construction of a loading dock, handicap-accessible elevator, handicap parking stalls and a plaza space for outdoor activities.
Landscaping also will be added.
“We’ll do much of the work, I imagine, when school is out for the summer,” she said, to avoid classroom disruption. “There’s not a definite timeline. We’ll work around the school year.”
Knewtson noted trucks must use the alley behind the Bowlus to load equipment for shows. Likewise, band students must load equipment from the alley.
“It’s just not a good situation,” Knewtson said.
The demolition came after the Friends tried, but failed, to sell the structure. (One of the stipulations was whoever bought it would have to move the home.)
“We received one offer, but it wasn’t feasible for us to accept it,” Knewtson said.
A group of supporters protested the home’s removal last summer, citing its picturesque appearance, and the fact it was built by the Northrup family in 1922.
A “Save the Northrup-Warren House” Facebook page garnered more than 500 supporters.
The Friends,a nonprofit organization whose mission it is to help with physical improvements to the Bowlus, purchased the home from Phyllis Warren in 2011, part of their long-standing mission of acquiring property around the Bowlus center.
While the home appeared attractive from the outside, Friends members found several issues with its structural integrity: aging wiring, lack of insulation, water damage from burst lines along the second floor and black mold caused by water seeping into the basement.
Finding other uses for the home were problematic because of narrow doorways.
Making way for change
