City outlines adaptive‑reuse plan for George Guida Senior House; kickoff celebration set

Dennis Fernandez, Historic Preservation Manager, updated the commission on plans to rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the George Guida Senior House, a locally designated property listed on the National Register. Fernandez said the house was constructed in 1951 (staff settled on 1951 rather than 1952 based on the owner's account) and is situated on parkland adjacent to McFarland Park.

He described the project's goals: preserve and restore the Art Moderne house's distinctive features (including a chimney mural and an interior mural in the sunroom), repair historic tile and trim, reinstate the original heart‑shaped driveway, and convert interior spaces for public use without adding new square footage. "We are not going to add additional space, but we're gonna convert existing spaces to the needs of the project including accessible bathrooms and ramps," Fernandez said.

Staff described operational planning with Parks & Recreation to manage programming and parking collaboration with the adjacent Barksdale Center to avoid large new parking demands. The upstairs bedrooms are proposed to be converted into three offices for community or city use; the main level will serve as a smaller community gathering space, and an enclosed porta cochere with a nano‑wall system was proposed as a second conditioned community room.

Fernandez said the design drawings were near completion (about 90%) and that permitting was underway, with staff expecting a permit shortly. He also invited commissioners to a kickoff celebration the following morning at 10:30 a.m., where the mayor and members of the Guida family will appear.

No formal action was taken beyond the commission's unanimous motion to receive and file the day's presentations.