Efforts Continue to Prevent Demolition of Court Street House

Some people are still fighting a plan to tear down a house on Court Street in downtown Binghamton to make way for a parking lot.

The two-story building targeted for demolition is across the street from the Phelps Mansion Museum.

The property at 188 Court Street was acquired by FGR Realty of Vestal for $140,000 last December.

FGR principal Philip Akel is seeking permission from the city to remove the house to provide seven additional parking spaces for a neighboring office building owned by the company.

Akel has been working for several months to obtain approval of the demolition plan.

The Preservation Association of the Southern Tier last spring issued a statement expressing "strong opposition" to efforts to remove the house, which was built in 1885.

The organization said the structure's "distinctive materials, architectural features and examples of fine craftsmanship remain intact."

When asked about the possible demolition of the house, Mayor Jared Kraham did not indicate whether he opposed the plan.

The mayor told WNBF News the city's Commission on Architecture and Urban design referred the matter to the planning commission. He said that commission would determine if the plan to expand an existing parking lot would "meet all of the storm water requirements and design guidelines."

Kraham said the planning commission "would be weighing whether or not it's something that could legally be done or responsibly be done."

The mayor added "tearing down buildings - historic or otherwise - to build surface level parking lots" is generally not something the state historic preservation office "really wants cities to advance, particularly if there are historic aspects of a property."

John Darrow is a member of the Commission on Architecture and Urban Design and a member of the preservation association's board of directors. In an email, he wrote that he and the association "strongly support any and all efforts to keep this house from demolition and to make it a part of our community!"

Philip Akel could not be reached for comment on the plan to remove the structure.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.