By Ben Irwin. San Jose Spotlight.
A blighted downtown San Jose monument is at risk of further deterioration after the tarps and scaffolding that has surrounded it for years were suddenly removed.
Conservationists are concerned about damage to the First Church of Christ Scientist building after a local business owner took matters into his own hands by removing the coverings while carrying out work on 43 E. St. James St. The church It was built in 1905 and is on the ?8 Endangered? of the San José Preservation Action Council of historical and architectural monuments threatened by neglect and redevelopment.
“We were concerned that (the tarp) was doing more harm than good by hiding the true state of the building from the public. So, on one hand, we're glad it's now on display,” Ben Leech, executive director of the preservation council, told San Jose Spotlight. "On the other hand, we always imagined that removing the canvas would be part of a more extensive restoration process."
Jim Salata, founder of Garden City Construction, and a crew removed tarp and scaffolding from the church building Tuesday, the Mercury News reported. Since then, downtown residents have hung a banner in front of the church building thanking Salata for "finally cleaning up this mess."
Salata did not respond to a request for comment.
Councilman Omar Torres, who represents the downtown area where the iconic building is located, said it is unfortunate that Salata decided to trespass to remove the tarp. All the city can do is fine him, Torres said, and now that the tarp is down, the city has to watch out for damage from weather and people.
"If we have another winter like last winter, I just hope it doesn't damage the church. Although I hated seeing the bags, and our neighbors did too, it preserves the building," Torres told San José Spotlight. "Now the city needs to be vigilant so that people don't force their way into the building, so they don't paint graffiti and create even more blight."
The building is completely exposed and in obvious disrepair: collapsed walls with exposed wood and boarded up windows. Leech said the building cannot simply remain in its current state.
“If this is the new status quo for the next few years, it's a big deal,” Leech said. “We cannot count on (Salata) to continue monitoring it. The city really needs a plan besides blaming Z&L… that's not just an excuse anymore.”
China-based real estate firm Z&L Properties has owned the building for six years, though it has been swapped between the city and various developers since 2003 as part of unsuccessful development deals.
Z&L originally planned to build the “Park View Towers” project on the site, with 221 homes and nearly 19,000 square feet of retail space, but it never got off the ground. Law enforcement arrested its co-founder, Zhang Li, in London in December in connection with a San Francisco bribery scheme. Z&L has been selling other properties since Li's arrest, but company representatives have previously refused to say whether the church site will be sold.
Part of the development agreement with the city included the renovation of the iconic church building, which has not happened.
In June, the city dropped a proposal to spend $200,000 to waterproof the building. Torres said he doesn't want the city spending money on a billionaire's dilapidated property.
“That is going to set a dangerous precedent,” Torres said.
Torres and Mayor Matt Mahan proposed last week to increase fines for negligent owners of historic monuments, even though Z&L does not pay existing fines.
At Wednesday's Open Government and Rules Committee meeting, San Jose Economic Development Director Nanci Klein said most negligent property owners don't pay fines.
At the meeting, not all city staff agreed with the most important part of Mahan's proposal -- finding a way to buy the building back from Z&L -- citing the time it takes to process, bureaucratic hurdles and cost. .
“Of course it won't be cheap,” Leech said. “But for the city to even pretend to have an idea of what the building needs? I don't think they have."
Carolina Camarena, a spokeswoman for the city manager's office, said the staff's “yellow light” distinction will allow the city to explore buying back and redevelopment of the church building, which will include cost estimates.
Leech said that any figure on the building's renovation would likely be tied to the development of the entire parcel and would be much higher than just focusing on the historic church. He said the city doesn't have time to wait for “magic thinking” on high-density, market-rate housing around the church, and that won't happen in the foreseeable future.
“If we have to wait for (development) to be defined to address the church, it's going to languish for years,” Leech said. "First focus on the church and then figure out the rest of the package."
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