Second Baptist Church: DEMOLITION ALERT!

UPDATE 2/12/22 

Richmond’s grassroots efforts continue, with a rally to save Richmond landmark Second Baptist Church today, at 3. Please share.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ4UjraFxCs/

UPDATE 2/11/22 1:30 p.m.

Historic Richmond learned last night that the City of Richmond has changed its position and plans to issue a demolition permit for the historic Second Baptist Church.

Since we first learned about the filing of the demolition permit in October 2021, Historic Richmond reached out to the Jefferson Hotel and its owners informally and formally with offers to partner with them to assist with the adaptive reuse of the Second Baptist Church building and to explore nontraditional preservation approaches for the structure and the façade. We were rebuffed. In addition, due to its architectural significance, we nominated the historic Second Baptist Church building for the Preservation Virginia and National Trust’s most endangered lists. Today, we have exhausted our legal options.

For preservationists, this was always an uphill David v. Goliath battle. We did have a small slingshot – there is a legal process for review of proposed demolitions of buildings in City Old & Historic Districts. The City took away that slingshot. Why? The shadow of Goliath was looming over City Hall.

There is no prohibition on demolishing buildings in Richmond. But any proposed demolition of the relatively few historic buildings in City Old and Historic Districts must be reviewed by the Commission of Architectural Review. This process contemplates review of structural issues and also includes an escape hatch for building owners who have unsuccessfully offered their buildings for sale for an adaptive reuse or relocation. There is another escape hatch in the form of a right to appeal to City Council. This process is fair and reasonable and applies to all owners of buildings in City Old and Historic Districts.

Second Baptist Church is in a City Old and Historic District. The legal process requires its proposed demolition to be reviewed by the Commission of Architectural Review. This position has been clearly and repeatedly articulated both privately and publicly by the City and has been reported by the press.

Why not proceed through the Commission of Architectural Review? The recent photos of the interior that we have seen on public social media sites reveal the neglect and failure to properly maintain the building by the owners, but they also reveal a building that is not structurally unsound. This building can be saved.

You might say that rehabilitation is expensive. Perhaps, but this building – because it is listed on the state and national historic registers – is eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits. Let’s take a look at costs. Demolition has costs, not only in the physical demolition but also in the cost of adding those materials to our landfills. For an adaptive reuse, a general rule of thumb is that the building will cost $250 per square foot to rehab. Based on City tax records, that would result in a rehab cost of just over $4 million. A tax credit rehabilitation could offset 45% (or $1.8 million) of qualified rehabilitation expenses, reducing the cost to approximately $2.2 million. That is a significant financial incentive for rehabilitation! (We note that we offered to partner with the owners in developing solutions, which could have further reduced costs.)

What will replace this high quality work of architecture? Another void on our urban landscape. Our city has seen many excellent historic rehabilitations of downtown’s unique and diverse architecture – from the National Theatre to the Dominion Energy Center adding vibrant cultural life to the residential rehabs of the Edison in the Old Vepco Building, the Stumpf Hotel and the Hotel John Marshall bringing new residents to downtown. Yet there are blocks and blocks of vacant surface parking zoned for high density mixed use – many owned by the owners of Second Baptist – that continue to sit vacant, while sapping the life out of downtown Richmond.

Historic districts bring tourism dollars. There are too many references to Richmond in the travel magazines to mention here, but they all mention the charm, the restaurants and the arts and culture scene based in our historic districts. Historic districts enhance the visitor experience to Richmond. According to Richmond Region Tourism, historic sites and landmarks, restaurants and museums were the most important aspects of the Richmond experience in motivating previous visitors to select Richmond as a destination. The hotels in Richmond are packed, despite the pandemic, as visitors come to enjoy our unique historic districts.

What is the real issue here? Process matters. These processes were put in place because the community wanted them. This City Old and Historic District was created with the approval of its property owners and this owner bought into the district after its creation. The larger Richmond community reaffirmed the importance of historic preservation in the Richmond 300, the City’s master plan. City Hall seems to be ignoring this fact not only in this situation but also in their elimination of a preservation planning department.

We note that this Goliath has significant financial resources and could have easily funded the costs of rehabilitation. And it is indeed ironic that this Goliath – who goes by the name of “Historic Hotels of Richmond LLC” – will trade on the name “historic” while demolishing one of our best historic architectural resources. Process matters – we can’t apply the rules to all the Davids out there, but give Goliath a free pass.

If you care about the imminent loss of this beautiful historic resource, please:

(1) contact the Mayor and your City Council representative to register your concern that the City of Richmond failed to follow the appropriate process for review by the Commission of Architectural Review for proposed demolitions in City Old & Historic Districts; and

(2) contact the Jefferson Hotel to register your dismay at the demolition of this historic architectural landmark.

 Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney Phone: 804-646-7970  [email protected]

Richmond City Council Members:

The Honorable Andreas D. Addison (1st District) [email protected]
The Honorable Katherine Jordan (2nd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ann-Frances Lambert (3rd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Kristen Nye Larson (4th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Stephanie A. Lynch (5th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson (6th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille (7th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell (8th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Michael J. Jones (9th District) [email protected]

Jefferson Hotel:

Jennifer Crisp
Director of Communications
101 West Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Cell Phone: (804)283-1594
[email protected]

Front Desk:
804-649-4750

Facebook: JeffersonHotel
Instagram:@TheJeffersonHotel
Twitter: @JeffersonHotel

For more information about the historic Second Baptist Church building, its architectural significance as part of the Franklin Street streetscape, and the importance of historic preservation for a vibrant city, please see more information on our website, here.

UPDATE 2/11/22: Please join us for a PRESS CONFERENCE AT 1:30 AT FRANKLIN AND FOUSHEE STREETS!

UPDATE 2/10/22:
We have just learned that the City of Richmond has changed its position and plans to issue a demolition permit for the historic Second Baptist Church.

Historic Richmond reached out to the Jefferson Hotel and its owners informally and formally with offers to partner with them to assist with the adaptive reuse of the Second Baptist Church building and to explore nontraditional preservation approaches for the structure and the façade. We were rebuffed. In addition, due to its architectural significance, we nominated the historic Second Baptist Church building for the Preservation Virginia and National Trust’s most endangered lists.

If you care about the imminent loss of this beautiful historic resource, please

(1) contact the Mayor and your City Council representative to register your concern that the City of Richmond failed to follow the appropriate process for review by the Commission of Architectural Review for proposed demolitions in City Old & Historic Districts; and

(2) contact the Jefferson Hotel to register your dismay at the demolition of this historic architectural landmark.

Mayor Stoney ([email protected])
Planning Director Kevin Vonck ([email protected])

Richmond City Council Members:

The Honorable Andreas D. Addison (1st District) [email protected]
The Honorable Katherine Jordan (2nd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ann-Frances Lambert (3rd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Kristen Nye Larson (4th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Stephanie A. Lynch (5th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson (6th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille (7th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell (8th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Michael J. Jones (9th District) [email protected]

Jefferson Hotel:

For more information about the historic Second Baptist Church building, its architectural significance as part of the Franklin Street streetscape, and the importance of historic preservation for a vibrant city, please see more information on our website, here.

About Second Baptist Church: The 1906 Second Baptist Church sanctuary was designed by William C. Noland of Noland and Baskervill, one of Richmond’s prominent architects and founder of the firm that is now known as Baskervill. The historic Second Baptist sanctuary building, a monumental neoclassic temple with a columned portico, is considered the finest design of its kind in Richmond. Second Baptist is part of a Franklin Street City Old & Historic District created in 1977 and expanded in 1987 to protect an eclectic and glamorous array of historic civic and residential architecture. Second Baptist is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which describes the building as “one of the most architecturally correct porticoes in the city. The design is derived directly from a Roman temple. It is the most distinguished progeny of Jefferson’s Capitol in Richmond.” Today, Second Baptist’s classical façade is a striking landmark on Franklin Street. Many consider Franklin Street to be the essence of Richmond with its fine buildings defining the architectural character of Richmond. Franklin Street never looked better with Monroe Park and VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, the YMCA, The Women’s Club, The Garden Club of Virginia and Linden Row recently revitalized.

10/29/21: Historic Hotels Of Richmond LLC, the owner of The Jefferson Hotel, plans to demolish the historic Second Baptist Church structure at Franklin and Adams Streets.

About the Historic Structure: The 1906 Second Baptist Church sanctuary was designed by William C. Noland of Noland and Baskervill, one of Richmond’s prominent architects and founder of the firm that is now known as Baskervill. Noland also designed the historic Beth Ahabah Synagogue and St. James’s Episcopal Church, both located on Franklin Street. The historic Second Baptist sanctuary building, a monumental neoclassic temple with a columned portico, is considered the finest design of its kind in Richmond.

Second Baptist is part of a Franklin Street City Old & Historic District created in 1977 and expanded in 1987 to protect an eclectic and glamorous array of historic civic and residential architecture. Second Baptist is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which describes the building as “one of the most architecturally correct porticoes in the city. The design is derived directly from a Roman temple. It is the most distinguished progeny of Jefferson’s Capitol in Richmond.”

Today, Second Baptist’s classical façade is a striking landmark on Franklin Street. Many consider Franklin Street to be the essence of Richmond with its fine buildings defining the architectural character of Richmond. Franklin Street never looked better with Monroe Park and VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, the YMCA, The Women’s Club, The Garden Club of Virginia and Linden Row recently revitalized.

The Hotel’s History With Second Baptist: In 1992, less than two years after the present owners of the hotel acquired the property, they sought permission to demolish the historic Second Baptist sanctuary as well as its educational building next door, arguing that the structures were badly deteriorated and a haven for vagrants and that the hotel needed additional surface parking. In 1992, the City’s Commission of Architectural Review prohibited demolition of both buildings, but City Council allowed the demolition to move forward. Preservationists voiced their concerns and offered to engage in joint efforts to revitalize the buildings for adaptive reuse, and to develop plans to solve the hotel’s parking needs. Ultimately, the educational building was demolished while the historic Second Baptist sanctuary building was left standing but underutilized. The remainder of the block is now used for surface parking.

The Demolition Plans: In October 2021, the hotel’s owners filed for a permit to demolish the surviving historic Second Baptist structure. The plans do not provide an “after” rendering reflecting what will replace the building, but based on the application the area will either be landscaped or used for parking.

In an effort to discuss their plans and to encourage rehabilitation of the historic structure, we reached out to the owners who noted structural issues and an inability to find an economically viable use.

Past adaptive reuse plans considered for the Second Baptist property included a fitness facility, swimming pool, offices and housing. Similar historic structures have been reused for retail shops, restaurants and even a food hall. Historic rehabilitation tax credits have a proven record of incentivizing revitalization and economic development in historic districts and could be used to help finance a project. With or without the financial assistance of tax credits, we can see Second Baptist’s refreshed exterior housing any number of amenities to burnish the hotel’s five stars and to enhance the visitor experience to Richmond.

Like Thomas Jefferson’s Capitol, the historic Second Baptist structure was inspired by (and may be a closer copy of) the Maison Carée in Nimes, France. Its edifice provides a dignified and complementary setting for the five star hotel. Saving the historic structure while satisfying the needs of the hotel are not mutually exclusive.

How You Can Help! You can voice your concern with the proposed demolition by writing:

• Mayor Stoney ([email protected])
• and Planning Director Kevin Vonck ([email protected])
• and Eva Campbell, Secretary of the Commission of Architectural Review ([email protected]) to ask that any proposed demolition be reviewed by the Commission of Architectural Review; and
• your City Council representative to inform them that Richmond’s unique, beautiful and authentic architecture has a significant positive impact on tourism, the visitor experience in Richmond, and economic development.

Here is a list of City Council members/email addresses.

The Honorable Andreas D. Addison (1st District) [email protected]
The Honorable Katherine Jordan (2nd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ann-Frances Lambert (3rd District) [email protected]
The Honorable Kristen Nye Larson (4th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Stephanie A. Lynch (5th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Council Vice President (6th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille, Council President (7th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell (8th District) [email protected]
The Honorable Michael J. Jones (9th District) [email protected]

PRESS:
11/1/21: Jefferson Hotel owner revives plan to demolish neighboring church building
11/1/21: Jefferson Hotel owner revives plan to demolish Richmond church building
12/8/21: As plans to demolish a 115-year-old Richmond church get new life, so does the fight to save it
1/7/22: The Second Coming: Historic Second Baptist Church is again endangered

We will provide updates here as we learn more.

*photo by Jeff Satterthwaite