Crisfield, MD – Four Victorian-era homes in the historic district of Crisfield are set for demolition, paving the way for more affordable housing.
The city received grant funds from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to remove the hazardous homes located at 9 North First Street, 308, 321 and 332 West Chesapeake Avenue.
These four properties are located in the Crisfield Historic District and are included in Maryland's National Register of Properties.
This designation brought Dominique Parks, Crisfield's housing and community resource coordinator, to the Maryland Historical Trust.
"They came and reviewed the properties and let us know that we had stipulations because they are historic properties," Parks said.
One of these stipulations requires that the city offer the public the opportunity to salvage historic architectural features when legally and financially feasible.
"Mantels, doors, windows, railings, molding," Parks said of the kinds of items that may be salvageable from these structures. "A lot of valuable pieces come from Victorian-era homes."
The Crisfield City Council held a mandatory public input session Wednesday evening.
One Crisfield homeowner in attendance said she is interested in items to help her preserve her historic property. Interested parties were encouraged to fill out intake forms requesting items to be salvaged and a waiver, assuming liability for any damages or injuries incurred.
Crisifeld's grant writer, Shanelle Haughton, said this is an opportunity for local organizations and individuals to capture a time capsule of 19th-century Crisfield architecture.
"People have purchased older homes, and yes, the bones are historical, but there may have been a lot of updates in that home," Haughton said. "Therefore, there is not as much of a charm or historical touch that is relevant to this community."
Haughton said this not only presents an opportunity to claim and integrate pieces of Crisfield's history into contemporary spaces but also clears a path for more affordable housing that encourages first-time home ownership.
"You may not have considered that you'd be able to get a home, but if you're paying rent over $1,200, then you know, you can be able to sustain a mortgage," Haughton said. "We want to be able to bring people awareness to people of that and get that opportunity."
To prevent the demolitions from being delayed, the Crisfield City Council decided during Wednesday's meeting to instate a deadline for requesting salvage materials. Interested parties have until Friday, April 4, to submit their requests to the city through Parks, who can be contacted at dparks@crisfieldcityhall.com or 410-68-1333 ext. 17.
City officials emphasized that Crisfield will not incur any costs or liability for removing salvaged materials from the homes. The contractor awarded the demolition project will set the removal costs, which will be paid for by the parties who requested the salvaged items themselves.