Grant for Blas Aguilar Adobe Could Save the Parra

Before the “poor little” Parra Adobe becomes dilapidated beyond repair and sold off by the city, the Cultural Heritage Commission wants to see money transferred to it from funds earmarked for another one of the town’s historic adobes, the Blas Aguilar.

“I’ve been on this commission for 11 years, and every year it’s the same discussion: The poor little Para … all of the other [historic] buildings have been taken care of, but somehow the Parra is always at the bottom of the list,” said Commissioner Janet Siegel.

The money transfer may be possible because the seismic stabilization and roof repairs needed at the Blas Aguilar Adobe will be funded with a $498,434 Proposition 84 grant, awarded by the state earlier this month. But it could be a complicated transfer, since the Blas Aguilar adobe grant will be a reimbursement, so the city will need the front the money before the grant is delivered.

Staffers are currently preparing an appraisal, title report and deed restrictions , just off Ortega Highway, about a mile east of the 5 freeway. They have estimated that it could cost about $410,000 to restore the Parra, which, according to residents who spoke at a commission meeting Tuesday, is infested with termites that are eating away at support beams.

"If the property is appraised and it’s put on the market and a buyer comes forth, [is the buyer] going to have to abide by certain restrictions?" resident Jerry Nieblas asked the commission.

There are 350 historic adobes still standing in California. Memos written by city staffers in the past several years indicate that although the methods used to construct the adobes in the 18th century were simple, the structures are tricky to repair. Staffers have cited the Parra Adobe as being in the worst shape of the

Despite the award of a federal grant that would help fund the necessary repairs, the City Council has opted to sell the Parra property—on which the historic Harrison House also lies. The grant is a Save America's Treasures grant, which would give the city 50 percent matching funds of up to $197,000. This grant, resident Dave Belardes said, "is nothing to sneeze at."

Belardes said that the grants are typically reserved for much larger projects, such as funding restoration at San Miguel Mission and the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. "For them to single out the Parra as part of that grant, I think it behooves the city to act on it and not let it go by the wayside, whether they sell [the property] or not," Belardes said.

The grant, however, contains stipulations that if any construction were planned at the site at any point in the next 50 years, blueprints would need to be reviewed by the state Office of Historic Preservation and the National Parks Department. There's also a requirement that the adobe be open to the public 12 times a year.

The letter the Cultural Heritage Commission will send to the City Council will include a recommendation that it be explicit in specifying to the future property owners that since the adobe is on the national historic registry, there are guidelines to follow when doing renovations. 

"That has to be spelled out in the very beginning and not just left up to chance," Siegel. The city needs to "see the historic elements of the building maintained."

If the City Council were to decide it wants to reallocate funds from the Blas Aguilar Adobe project to the Parra Adobe project, the city would not necessarily be able to do so immediately, said Teri Delcamp, the city's preservation manager.

At the earliest, construction will likely begin on Blas Aguilar in the summer of 2012, because the city must complete state-mandated environmental reviews of the proposed repairs before any Proposition 84 money is awarded. There is a possibility that up to $25,000 of the grant will be handed to the city up front, rather than reimbursed, if the environmental analysis is completed.