Historic status for N.W. Side neighborhood advances
Greenlawn Estates area was outside the city when it started
A small, near Northwest Side neighborhood that began nearly a century ago as a suburban oasis just outside the city limits could become San Antonio’s next historic district. The Greenlawn Estates Historic District would encompass 41 properties near Interstate 10 and Vance Jackson Road in the Los Angeles Heights area. It would be the 31st historic district in San Antonio. The Historic and Design Review Commission approved it Wednesday; next is Zoning Commission review, then a vote by the City Council. Newspaper ads in 1927 called the neighborhood “one of the first in San Antonio offering large sites with improvements outside the city limits,” combining “the charm and luxury of living in the country with all the advantages and conveniences a city dweller enjoys.” Its predominant architecture is Tudor Revival with steeply pitched roofs, multiple gables and arched entries. Residents said they hope the historic designation will protect Greenlawn Drive from developers who in the past have sought to build multifamily housing there. “We’re just trying to preserve the neighborhood,” said Burt Barr, a resident who applied for the designation. But Judy Cruz, co-owner of business at 1006 Vance Jackson Road, said she opposed being included in the new district. Her commercially zoned property is occupied by an engineering firm, with a 1943 Ranch style pier-and-beam structure on the lot that she said has been altered and no longer is historically significant. In a 4-2 vote, the commission supported the designation, with the exclusion of the Vance Jackson address. Formation of a district has the support of 31 property owners — just over 75 percent, with two opposed and eight neutral. That’s above the minimum of 51 percent. All but 10 of the 41 properties are owner-occupied. Greenlawn Estates, platted in 1922, also included Sherwood Drive, with a total of 98 large lots, staff research shows. The first home was built in 1922 at 150 Greenlawn Drive, before the development was sold in 1927 to Otto Klaus, a well-known local home builder. He built another home at 163 Greenlawn in
1927, and the block was 75 percent developed by 1950. Aside from one house built last year, replacing a house that burned in the 1980s, “the block is entirely intact,” a city staff report states. Property owners in historic districts must obtain a certificate through city staff or the HDRC for exterior alterations. But the city offers tax incentives, including a 20 percent exemption on city taxes for homesteads, and additional city tax reductions if a property is rehabilitated. On a different topic, the HDRC approved commercial and historical signs at a 7-Eleven convenience store being built on the site of the recently demolished Malt House restaurant. There was a vigorous community effort to save the West Side landmark that stood for nearly 70 years at Zarzamora and Buena Vista streets. Comet Signs will replicate the two historic, roofmounted Malt House signs, made of red metal cutout letters that now are badly weathered. A bronze marker and historic photos, to be enlarged as window decals, also are planned for the store.