Historic Graham house up for sale

A dilapidated three-story home that has been the residence of two UNC presidents has been given another chance for survival.

The owner of the Edward Kidder Graham house and the group Preservation North Carolina have come to an agreement to find a buyer by the end of the month.

“The Edward Kidder Graham house is a very important one, not only to Chapel Hill but to the state as well,” said Cathleen Turner, the Piedmont regional director of Preservation North Carolina, which has partnered with the town preservation society to help stir interest in the property.

Turner said the group is optimistic that a buyer will be found soon.

“We’ve got several interested folks,” said Ernest Dollar, the executive director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. “We’re crossing our fingers.”

Dollar said the owner was given a year to repair or demolish the property under Chapel Hill’s demolition by neglect ordinance.

The ordinance states that if the owner fails to repair or demolish the property by the end of the grace period, he will be fined.

That grace period originally ended today.

According to Orange County Geographic Information Systems, the owner of the property, located at 115 Battle Lane, is Sherman Richardson.

Richardson did not return calls for comment.

Dollar said the owner planned to renovate the property, but the repairs proved too extensive and much was left unfinished.

“It’s going to take quite a bit of renovation,” said Dollar, who explained that the property is in very bad condition.

The home, which housed Edward Kidder Graham and Frank Porter Graham, has an extensive termite infestation and has holes in the floor and roof.

The property is selling for $875,000.

Stephen Rich, treasurer of the town preservation society and former chairman of the Historic District Commission, said now the owner won’t be fined until 2012, but he still reserves the right to demolish the property at any time.

Former UNC President Bill Friday lives down the street from the house on 521 Hooper Lane.

Friday said he walks past the house each day and sees it become increasingly damaged.

“I think anything like that is worth preserving,” Friday said, who added that Edward Kidder Graham was one of his heroes.

“It’s a vulnerable property because no one really cared for it.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.