Proposed conversion of 306 E. Broad could strip National Register status, preservation officer warns

Preservation officer Art Wright told the Historic Landmark Commission that plans to convert 306 East Broad (Buchanan Hater Witherspoon House, built 1871) into an optometrist office would require removing rear structures and adding a two‑story addition and parking area. Wright said those changes would remove significant historic fabric and could jeopardize the property’s National Register status when the state reviews the project.

Wright detailed the secretary of the interior standards the state applies—compatibility of additions, retention of historic materials and reversibility of new construction—and said the proposed two‑story addition would not be compatible with the house’s one‑story center‑passage form. "So what we're looking at is we think there's enough to that the state, when they review this application, may take it off the National Register List," Wright said. The commission noted it lacks local landmark jurisdiction over the property, but discussed outreach to the owner and monitoring the permit and structural engineering review.