Fresh Loaf

Threats. Intimidation. Yard signs. Snotty e-mails. Yes, the knives are out in Oakhurst, where the proposed creation of what would be Decatur’s largest historic district has resulted in a nasty neighborhood-wide squabble in which many homeowners have been forced to choose sides.

Terry Michel, a real estate agent who says she supports voluntary design guidelines rather than city imposed building restrictions, says she’s stopped discussing the issue with neighbors because the rhetoric on both sides has become too overheated.

“The vitriol is off-putting to me,” Michel explains. “It’s like watching Ann Coulter debate Al Frankin.”

So what is it about a historic district that has so many peoples’ knickers in a wad?

Mainly, the argument comes down to control over one’s own property. If a house is included in the district, then the owner would need to get a “certificate of appropriateness” to tear it down, build an addition or make significant exterior changes. Construction plans that aren’t seen as keeping within the historic character of the neighborhood – say, replacing a 1920s Craftsman bungalow with a modernist stucco triplex – may not be allowed.

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Atlantans who’ve driven through the intersection of Howell Mill Road and 14th Street recently will have noticed the beginning of demolition work on the huge, former U-Haul loft and storage building that bears the slogan “White Provision Co.” on top. If it looks as if someone is preparing to tear down this Westside landmark, you’re half right.

Actually, says developer Chris Faussemagne, the plan is to remove sections of the sprawling property that were added onto the 1910 meat-packing plant over the decades. The original brick building — the part everybody sees from the street — forms an “L” at the corner of Howell Mill and the adjacent railway tracks. Behind that facade are a series of adjoining structures that long housed lofts popular with musicians and artists.

The idea is to keep the familiar “White Provision” building in front, while attaching a contemporary steel-and-glass complex to the back that will contain 100 condominiums with ground-floor retail. Plans to install an entrance directly across from 14th Street require the eventual relocation of West Egg Cafe, which is currently open. A footbridge over the railroad tracks will connect the property to the Westside Urban Market shopping center of Bacchanalia fame.

Because the original building was built for cold storage, it never had windows — a fact that renders it “functionally obsolete” on today’s market, says Faussemagne, who works with Atlanta real-estate firm Weaver & Woodbery. Since the property has never been on a historic register, there’s nothing to stop the company from adding windows in order to transform it into usable office space. Faussemagne previously oversaw the development of the historic Puritan Mill complex.

White Provision is expected to open in fall 2008.

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