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Greensboro says historic home was torn down without permission

Many in the Dunleath Historic Neighborhood are searching for answers after a home was torn down without approval.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Many in a Greensboro Historic neighborhood are searching for answers after a historic home was torn down without permission last week.

The city is reviewing how it happened and is putting measures in place to keep it from happening again.

The house sat on Summit Avenue and was built in 1923. It was part of the Dunleath Historic Neighborhood.

"It really tore me up in a way that I was actually surprised how much it affected me," Dean Driver said when he saw the house being demolished.

"Just a couple hours later somebody said, 'you know they took that house all the way down'," he said, "It was really disheartening."

Driver is nearly done with a four year remodel on a house just a couple of blocks away. He and his wife are retired and fix up homes as a hobby.

The white house on Summit Avenue caught his eye for years.

"I thought I'd like to take that one on next, you know? Because it was just such a beautiful house," Driver said.

He thought maybe the house had been approved for demolition but Greensboro and preservation officials said that was not the case.

"No permission was given or granted for demolition of this historic property," Benjamin Briggs said.

Briggs is the Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro Incorporated. He said state law requires permits and review from neighbors before a historic home can be torn down.

Briggs said his group and the neighborhood learned of the demolition as it was happening.

"You just can't do that here," Driver said.

County property records show Adebayo Properties LLC bought the home for $150,000 in May 2020.

There is no website or phone number for that company.

A sign on the property bears the name of ASJ Wilson Construction. WFMY News 2 reached out to them about the project and has not gotten a response.

Briggs said the home was in disrepair, but was not so dilapidated that it could not have been remodeled.

"It was needing a coat of paint at this point but the interior was restorable. There was nothing daunting about it that required demolition," Briggs said.

Briggs also said the city is now requiring an extra signature before demolitions in historic neighborhoods as it reviews this case.

"Mistakes were made and we just need to ensure that that's never going to happen in this neighborhood again," Driver said.

Driver and other neighbors said that no steps will bring the home back.

"At this point, we don't know exactly who to be mad at," Driver said.

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