When builder T.J. Thornberry was hired by clients to demolish and build two new homes on their Chasteen Street properties within the Punta Gorda Historic District, little did he realize he would be embarking on an odyssey laden with roadblocks lasting nearly three months.

After multiple appearances before City Council, he was able to apply for demolition permits in late January and recently began to work with Mayor Debi Lux on establishing new criteria for the city going forward.

Thornberry contends the home at 111 Chasteen St. was arbitrarily placed on the local historic registry by a former staff member. Built in 1951, the 964-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath home on slab is located near the Peace River and was flooded multiple times, including five times over the last year and a half from king tides and hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The city initially determined it was a historic home and subject to different rules due to its location in the 50-acre Historic District that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991.

If a home is designated to be in a historic district or of historic value, it is not subject to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 50% rule limiting the cost of repairs or improvements to a damaged home to 50% of the home’s market value.

Over the years, the house at 111 Chasteen St. underwent additions and modifications, altering its original style.

The Punta Gorda Historic Preservation Advisory Board on Dec. 17 voted 4-2 to deny delisting the home from the local historic register but unanimously approved delisting 359 Chasteen St. The recommendations were sent to Council, which originally agreed with the board’s decision.

Thornberry invited council members to tour the home with broken windows and an intrusion of water that allowed mold to grow. He said it was a hazard because children could enter the heavily damaged structure and be injured.

If the city elected to keep the home on its local historic register, demolition would be delayed as the owner submits a structural engineering study and obtains a certificate of appropriateness. The months-long process would have ultimately delayed the inevitable.

City Council voted 4-1 favoring delisting 111 Chasteen St. while unanimously approving 359 Chasteen St. Lux voted against delisting 111 Chasteen St., then later said she regretted her vote.

Thornberry said the owner of 111 Chasteen St. seeks to begin new construction as soon as possible, with the design for the new home currently being developed. It will be an elevated one-story, 1,500-square-foot Craftsman-style structure to keep with the architecture of the city’s Historic District.

“My frustrations with the process boiled over at the last meeting and I took no pleasure in my exchanges with Mayor Lux. We have since reconciled and we plan to work together going forward,” Thornberry said.

“My goal is to create a criterion that can be utilized at the staff level to help expedite the process to delist properties where warranted and allow people to efficiently and effectively invest in their own property and ultimately our city.”

Meanwhile, the owner of 359 Chasteen St. put their plans on pause after a neighbor expressed interest in purchasing the property.