Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Sean Miller for Approval of a Historic Marker for the Property Located at 1104 W Louisiana Street.
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in McKinney
MEETING DATE: March 7, 2024
DEPARTMENT: Development Services - Planning Department
CONTACT: Cassie Bumgarner, Historic Preservation Planner
Paula Jarrett Nasta, AIA, Planning Manager
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
• Staff recommends approval of this Historic Marker Application.
ITEM SUMMARY:
• The applicant requests approval of a Historic Marker under the HNIZ Program property at 1104 W Louisiana Street.
• To be eligible for a historic marker under the HNIZ program, residential properties must meet the minimum eligibility requirements of the program, provide specific information with the historic marker application.
• Specifically, the applicant must provide the following with an application for a historic marker:
o A written documented history.
o Verification that the building is a minimum of 50 years of age.
o Verification that the residential property is located within the HNIZ boundary.
o Photo documentation of all four elevations using black and white or color photographs and copies of any available historic photographs.
o Legal description of the property with a location map.
o A site plan of the property shall be provided, if available.
o Additional information as deemed necessary by the Director of Planning or their designee.
• Staff has reviewed the request and has found that it meets the minimum eligibility requirements of the HINZ program for a historic marker.
• The home is listed as a high priority building in the 2015 Update of the Historic Resources survey. A high priority building contributes significantly to local history or broader historical patterns. They are an outstanding or unique example of architecture, engineering or crafted design. This category can also be assigned if the structure is the last remaining example of a particular building type, if it displays especially rare or unusual features, or if it is particularly associated with an important historic event or person.
Construction and Alterations to the property:
• Designed by architect John Astin Perkins of Dallas and built in 1940 as a singe-story, brick residence on pier-and-beam foundation.
• Undated changes: original shutters removed, but now replaced, brick painted gray from a likely originally white, and a patio off the living room is now enclosed.
History of the home and people associated with the property:
• Designed by architect John Astin Perkins, credited for creating the “Dallas look” in interior design.
• His client base was made of many wealthy residents in and around Dallas, such as Clint Murchison, Ross Perot, and Perry Bass. He was a go-to designer for Dallas socialites by 1940 and continued to work as an active designer in Dallas until his death in 1999.
• The home was designed for Landon Lee Elliott, Jr, a successful lumber businessman. He worked at J. T. Lumber Company for several years under his father’s management; however, he accepted a position at the Reliance Brick Company of Dallas after management changed in 1928.
• Upon his father’s declining health, Elliott returned to McKinney in 1936, starting his own building materials company behind the W.O.W. Building on South Tennessee Street. He had one truck and two employees. It was called the Lee Elliott Building Materials Company.
• In 1943, Elliott bought out J. T. Lumber Company of McKinney, and later in 1954 bought the Dallas branch of the company.
• Elliott’s company was involved in many large-scale building projects, including the rebuilding of the Texas Textile Mill after the 1948 tornado and the 72 mill homes in 1950. In 1951, his company was contracted by the McKinney Housing Authority to construct two low-income housing projects: Merritt Homes and Lloyd Owens Place.
• The second owner of the home, Angus Cameron Bullock, established the first Oldsmobile dealership in McKinney. He purchased the home in 1952 from Elliott. Bullock started managing a service station, but later purchased it as sole owner of the Bullock Motor Company in 1931.
• Bullock Motor Company had continued success through the 1950s. The Texas Company, Texaco, held a dinner in Dallas honoring Mr. Bullock for his 30 years of selling their products in 1955. That same year, he moved his dealership to the new Highway 75 east of the Square (now McDonald Street). Angus and his wife Lilian lived at the home until their respective deaths in 1978 and 2000.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
• The Historic Neighborhood Improvement Zone (HNIZ) Program was established in 2008 for the purpose of preserving the city’s unique and historic neighborhoods while encouraging property owners to maintain and/or rehabilitate residential properties and structures.
• The HNIZ Program includes a three-tiered incentive structure whereby residential properties that meet specified criteria are eligible to receive ad valorem tax exemptions on city taxes for a designated period of time.
• To be eligible for an HNIZ Program incentive, the following minimum general requirements apply:
o The property shall be located within the HNIZ Program area.
o The property shall be owner-occupied and shall maintain a homestead exemption from the Collin Central Appraisal District for the life of the incentive period.
o Verified, eligible improvements shall have received all necessary permits and approvals, including COAs.
o The structure, accessory structures, grounds, property elements and building elements with their materials and finishes have been maintained in good repair and in operable condition.
o There are no pending code violations.
o The total ad valorem taxes owed to the city must be current and paid on time.
• The historic marker is one of the requirements for the Marker Level incentive of the HNIZ program.
• Under Ordinance #2022-03-036, if the HPAB approves the Marker, the applicant will be responsible for purchasing and displaying the Historic Marker.