The Jefferson Scholars Foundation may not seek an additional $3 million bond from Charlottesville City Council in its effort to construct a new headquarters, adding to the controversy that it might demolish a 93-year-old building.
The Foundation, formed by the Alumni Association to offer merit-based scholarships to top University students, purchased the property located at the intersection of Maury Avenue and Clarke Court in February. The property includes a house that was constructed in 1914 by locally renowned architect Eugene Bradbury as the residence for former University physician Robert F. Compton. Commonly referred to as the Beta house, the house also previously served as the residence for Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Council, which approved an $18 million bond for the construction project in June, told the Foundation that it would not approve an additional $3 million until certain questions were answered about the status of the Compton residence in the Foundation's building plans. Some local preservationists expressed concerns to Council that the Foundation might demolish the aged structure. The second bond is contingent upon the Foundation either agreeing to preserve the Compton residence or explaining why it would demolish the residence, according to Foundation President James Wright.
"I don't think there's any secret that the [Compton] house has suffered," Wright said. "We're doing what the City Council has asked us to do. We're having a structural assessment of the house done."
Some local preservationists, including University Architecture Prof. Daniel Bluestone, argue that the structure is not in poor condition and that demolishing it is not in the best interest of the community.
"If there was an honor system for some of the people who have spoken on the condition of the house, I think there would be people filing honor charges against them," Bluestone said, adding that he has been in the residence in the past year and can attest to its structural integrity.
The possibility of demolishing the Compton residence is one of many options being considered by the Foundation in its building plans, according to Wright. While a total cost for the project has not been estimated, Wright said the Foundation could seek additional financing from private sources in the absence of the additional bond from the city. Some council members, however, did not even consider the possibility of demolition for the residence at the approval of the original bond.
"It never occurred to me that when they asked for the initial $18 million that they would consider tearing down this house," Councilor Kevin Lynch said. "I thought that was the whole point of why they wanted that piece of property, because there was this nice piece of architecture sitting on it."
According to Bluestone, an expert on the work of Bradbury, the Compton residence is an important architectural treasure. Other local buildings designed by Bradbury include the Kearney House on Lewis Mountain Road, St. Paul's Memorial Church on University Avenue and the Entrance Building currently occupied by the University's Women's Center. Tearing down the structure, he said, would be a mistake on the part of the Foundation.
"Here, the Jefferson Scholars -- totally bound up with that mission of taking from the past, developing in the present, projecting into the future -- are being cavalier, to say the least, about heritage," Bluestone said.
As the Compton residence is not in a designated historic preservation district and has not been individually designated by the Foundation for official historic recognition, it can be demolished without the intervention of City Council, according to Lynch. The Foundation, however, will report to Council with their plans for construction at the review of the $3 million bond request. A timetable for this meeting has not yet been set.
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