Progress made on Plymouth as long-delayed project begins
RENDERING SHOWS the approved proposal for the Plymouth Boulevard home. View is looking northeast.
Three and a half years after the approval of plans to restore and add an additional story to the property at 304 S. Plymouth Blvd., it seems at long last that work has finally begun. I had covered the long and troubled saga of 304 S. Plymouth Blvd. in my December 2021 column titled, “Will a historic ranch house on Plymouth Blvd. finally be reborn?” The article covered the approval by the Windsor Square Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Board of a plan to restore and modernize the 1949 ranch-style house at the corner of Plymouth and Third Street. What followed were three and a half more years of neglect, vandalism and transient occupation, much to the irritation of the neighbors who had longed for a happy conclusion to issues at the nuisance property.
So it was with great surprise last month that I came to a halt in front of 304 S. Plymouth and saw men on the roof of the house tearing off shingles and plywood, removing windows and filling large dumpsters in the driveway. Having been in the preservation game long enough, I had been through my fair share of “lightning” demos—when historic buildings are torn down illegally or significantly damaged enough that they lose their historicity. While I had long feared that 304 S. Plymouth would one day succumb to its twin afflictions of vacancy and neglect, most likely by catching fire, I did not expect it to be demolished in broad daylight.
The home was designed as a low-slung ranch-style house in 1949 by architect Y. W. Nibecker for Mr. Harry Carian Sr., an Armenian immigrant and prominent grape grower of the Coachella Valley. Carian had purchased one of the many available corner lots in Windsor Square and Hancock Park that remained empty until after WWII. The house changed hands many times over the years, yet remained occupied until the early 2000s, when it was acquired by Kim Kwang Tae. Tae allowed the property to decline and deteriorate through neglect over two decades.
After numerous complaints by the neighbors and threats of fines by the city authorities, the property was sold in 2020 to attorney and financier Ben Donel. He commissioned the architects Jane Keener and Matt Steele of Architecture JHK to create a design to improve and expand the house in a way that would satisfy the HPOZ Board. The board approved their design in November 2021. Soon after, the property was put up for sale. It remained on the market for over three years, and the cycle of decline sadly continued.
When I saw the crew of men tearing the house apart, I quickly searched to find a demolition permit, and finding none, fired a note to Damian Gatto, the city planner responsible for Windsor Square, to inform him of a possible illegal demolition. After further searching, I found a new permit issued in April of this year for the additions and remodel approved in 2021. Gatto forwarded me the approved project’s demolition plan for the house, which, much to my relief, appeared to correspond to the work I saw being carried out. The Plymouth and Third Street facades were preserved, while the interior and rear structure was knocked down to the studs in preparation for new work to begin.
I intend to keep an eye on the continuing works at 304 (Full disclosure: I live down the street on Plymouth Boulevard) to either prevent the complete demolition of the house or, more preferably, to follow with a great sense of relief the restoration and rebirth of a long-neglected corner of Windsor Square. I will keep you posted!
Category: Real Estate
