The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan Lagniappe columnist

What’s up with all the drama in Oakleigh? In my last column I mentioned that the historic Bellingrath Carriage House at 1114 Government St. in Midtown is up for sale for $115,000. Turns out there’s a whole lot more to the tale….

Apparently, once upon a time there was a carriage house at 60 S. Ann St. that was part of the original Bellingrath family home. There’s a church at that site now, and when the church no longer needed the building, it was sold to Enoch Aguilera, one of the owners of the Berney/Fly Bed and Breakfast at 1118 Government St. He planned to move the building to the lot next to his B & B and then restore it to provide more rooms for his guests.

As near as I can tell, the city has supported Aguilera’s plans from the get-go. John Sledge of the Mobile Historic Development Commission says it is “the last tangible link with the Bellingrath family in the city of Mobile proper.” Sledge (and a number of other people) hope the building can be saved. The Architectural Review Board gave its approval, and the building was moved in September 2004.

If you’ve driven by recently, you know the building can only be described as an eyesore. So how did a building of such importance to the city of Mobile end up in such a sorry state? It’s a long and complicated story. I’ll hit the high points (as I understand them) before moving on to the recent drama.

Before the building was moved, Hurricanes Dennis and Cindy damaged it, delaying Aguilera’s plans. Then one week after the building was moved from S. Ann Street, Hurricane Ivan blew through taking the roof with it. And finally Katrina came along to finish the job, leaving the building more or less in its present state.

But Aguilera persisted. He got an SBA loan to replace the roof. He applied for funds to restore the building, and a Katrina recovery grant for $249,000 was approved in April 2007. By this time Aguilera was getting behind on the mortgage payments and before he could start work, the mortgage holder foreclosed. The property went to auction and on Aug. 14, 2007, Virginia P. Taylor and Edward Taylor of Surprise, Ariz., purchased the building for $92,000 on behalf of the Taylor Family 1998 Trust. The trust was also the holder of the mortgage. Are you following me so far?

While all this was going on, the city was pestering Aguilera to either repair or demolish the building. As he tells it, since last March he has appeared six or seven times before Environmental Court Judge Holmes Whiddon. Apparently, in a hearing Oct. 3, Judge Whiddon decided enough was enough. Aguilera says he was found guilty, fined $11,000 and told to tear down the building. He told the judge he had no money to pay the fine and he refused to demolish the house.

Aguilera says he was told to appear again on Nov. 28 for sentencing. When I spoke to him that morning, he was preparing for the worst. He said he was taking a change of clothes to court with him. “My position is I won’t pay the fine because that would set a precedent on the renovation of historic buildings,” Aguilera said. “I’d rather go to jail.” He said if that happened, it would be the first time in U.S history someone was jailed for refusing to tear down a historic building. Did I mention that, at this point, Aguilera had not owned the property for over three months?

I’m happy to report Aguilera spent the night of Nov. 28 in his own bed. After more information was presented in court, Judge Whiddon dismissed the case on the basis of hardship. When I spoke to Aguilera after the hearing, he said how grateful he was to School Superintendent and next-door neighbor Harold Dodge who appeared as a character witness for him. He also thanked Wade Faulkner and Palmer Hamilton of Miller, Hamilton Snider, & Odom, LLC for representing him.

So what about future plans for the property? The current owners didn’t return my phone call before deadline, and no one seems to know what their plans are, beyond their current attempt to sell the property. Aguilera still has a one-year right of redemption on the property.

You have to wonder why the city kept going after Aguilera when he no longer owned the building, and why it hasn’t gone after the Taylors. I never got an answer to that but Aguilera said Judge Whiddon gave the city’s Urban Development Department 30 days to notify the new owners of the violation.

What’s the moral of this story? To be honest, I’m not sure. Aguilera is clearly the hero. Several people I spoke to mentioned how much money and time he has spent trying to save the Bellingrath Carriage House, and how much of himself he has put into the effort.

And yet there’s no happy ending to the tale, at least at this point. For that, we still need a knight in shining armor with $100,000 or so to buy the property. Given that (plus the $249,000 grant and a whole lot of patience), maybe one more historic building in Mobile can escape the bulldozer.

Sharman Egan is Lagniappe lagniappe columnist. Contact her at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com.

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