Plans to demolish a historic building in Huntsville were approved in part Monday, with one resident calling the decision a "win-win."
The Annie Merts building, which most recently had been used as an administrative building for different Huntsville City School System departments, was being considered for demolition to make way for single-family homes and condominiums.
Some residents hoped the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission would vote against the demolition plan, saying the building has great historic value.
"If there is a vote to demolish, it's irreversible. It will be the loss of an iconic original Huntsville High School and a historic building here that means a lot to a lot of people," said Patricia Hinrich, who has spent most of her life in Huntsville and lived just blocks away from Annie Merts in a historic home of her own.
She hoped the building's historic value and potential for restoration would be enough to sway the commission into avoiding demolition. Instead, all but one of the commissioners voted for a partial demolition with stipulations for future use of the property.
Crunkleton Associates wants to construct condos and single-family homes at the site. While the vote brings that plan one step closer to reality, commissioners said they want Crunkleton Associates to reduce the number of lots in their plan.
Ken Hovans, a resident in the historic district where the Merts Center is located, said the commission's decision is a win-win.Â
"The condo issue wasn't really a big thing for me," Hovans said. "I was fine with that. I think this is probably ... the better outcome."
Developers said they will now have to go back to the drawing board to see if they are able to meet the stipulations before they proceed with buying the property and moving forward with demolition.
