Historic Preservation Board discusses Journey’s End and possibility of rezoning downtown for multi-use

In other meeting news, board member Becky Paterson asked if it would be all right with the board if she worked with Anthony Rodriguez, the community development manager, to work with her regarding a potential plan for the downtown historic district to have its own special zoning. Paterson said she was concerned about affordable housing needs in town and thought a mixed-use zoning change would be beneficial to many. “I own a contributing commercial building in the district, and there are lots of us who would love to be able to put a second story on and create a mixed use for housing,” she said. “Affordable housing has become an urgent issue here. Almost everyone who works here is commuting, sometimes 20 or 30 minutes to get home. We have lots of examples in contributing and noncontributing that were permitted when it was allowable.”

At the monthly meeting of the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board on Wednesday, April 13, the sentinel of 18th street – Journey’s End – was the topic of discussion, as the board voted unanimously to change its historic status from non-contributing to contributing.
The matter was brought to the county’s attention by the board in the last month, and county staff was directed to prepare the report for the board at this month’s meeting.
While the “Caretaker’s Cottage” owner, Ron Slimp, is all for the status change, he asked Lee County Principal Planner Earl Hahn whether the smaller cottages on the property would be considered in the status change along with the main house. Hahn said he wasn’t sure if that was the case, but he would check.
The legacy of the property at 1820 18th Street W. began with a man named Henry Stackhouse from Louisiana. He worked as a foreman for the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad and acquired the property in 1911, prior to the time when a road to the house existed. In 1914 he built the main house utilizing contractor B.S. Barnett. The lumber used for the house was virgin pine from the forests between Arcadia and Wauchula.
Stackhouse was not well liked, and one night in 1916 he simply disappeared from the island. The Punta Gorda Bank foreclosed on the house, and it was abandoned for almost a decade. In 1923 or 1924, William Johns of New York bought the property and asked a local family man, George Knight, to live on the property and renovate it. Knight agreed. More cottages were built, and a nine-hole golf course was installed. “The Caretaker’s Cottage, “The Circle Cottage” and “The Redroof Cottage,” as well as “The Seaside Cottage,” came into being at this time.
The Knight family stayed on the property for 25 years, but in 1944 William Johns died and the property was sold to the Anthony Drexel family.
The Drexels lived in the house through World War II and often found wreckage from destroyed German submarines littering the beach.
When Anthony died, Journey’s End was sold to Judge John Bolles and his wife from Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. He was friends with Michael Ingram, and upon his death Ingram purchased the home. The rest is history.
By the way, this home is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been since 1985.
In other meeting news, board member Becky Paterson asked if it would be all right with the board if she worked with Anthony Rodriguez, the community development manager, to work with her regarding a potential plan for the downtown historic district to have its own special zoning. Paterson said she was concerned about affordable housing needs in town and thought a mixed-use zoning change would be beneficial to many.
“I own a contributing commercial building in the district, and there are lots of us who would love to be able to put a second story on and create a mixed use for housing,” she said. “Affordable housing has become an urgent issue here. Almost everyone who works here is commuting, sometimes 20 or 30 minutes to get home. We have lots of examples in contributing and non-contributing that were permitted when it was allowable.
“If you look at our plat of downtown Boca Grande, my office sits on two lots, and the building covers the entire property. Then there’s the lot between the Temp and Smart Studio that is still vacant, having been sold years ago. The owners cannot meet any setback requirements and still have a building there. We can’t have a new restaurant downtown, because parking requirements can’t be met; we’ve had a parking issue for 100 years.”
County Attorney Amanda Swindle said the board needed to have consensus on the matter.
Board Member Paul Eddy took umbrage with Paterson’s suggestion and said there was no way that there was room for employees to live in the historic district. Paterson said that was not what she meant.
The board decided that Paterson would work with Rodriguez to come up with some ideas to propose to the board at a later date.