One month ago PARD responded to our restoration proposal. While essentially agreeing with our plan, they noted that they were unable to contribute any funds. As a result they required that we have all the money needed to complete the project, in the bank, before any work could begin.

Our position is that we want to begin the long delayed rehabilitation with the $300,000 we have available today. The remainder will be much easier to raise with PARD and City approval, and donations will increase once people see actual work being done. Consequently we have requested PARD modify their condition regarding full funding. In the meantime the house still looks like this..... 

PARD did ask the Bond Election Advisory Task Force for $4 million to implement their "Preferred Alternative" for Norwood Park that included restoration of the house. This request was deleted as the committee trims items for the November bond election. So, our proposal is the only one on the table that will save this structure from demolition by neglect. Our proposal is also the only capital improvement project that relies mostly on donations of money, time and materials and not exclusively on scarce taxpayer dollars.

The task ahead is to encourage city officials to agree to our proposal and figure out how the city can contribute to this public private partnership.

The Norwood Park Foundation is ready, willing and able to begin work now and make the house look like it once did 90 years ago. 

Your comments, questions, and advice are welcome. email us at restorenorwood@yahoo.com 

If you agree that it's time for change to begin, feel free to contact our public officials.

 

On March 2 the Board of Directors of the Norwood Park Foundation submitted a privately funded restoration/operation/maintenance proposal to PARD to save the house from demolition by neglect. PARD staff informed us they will have a response by March 26.

In the meantime we have scheduled meetings with council members to keep them in the loop and solicit their support for this public/non-profit partnership.

 

 

For almost four years volunteers with the Norwood Posse have promoted restoration of the historic house on Lady Bird Lake. The time has now come for the Posse to disband and re-group as the Norwood Park Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation. Required papers were filed with the Texas Secretary of State on 2-15-12.

While most of our work has been below the radar, every once in a while the media does a story. Here is an example from the 2-16-12 edition of the Austin American Statesman. Had we been writing the story, it would have been more comprehensive.....but any story keeps this project in public awareness.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/plan-calls-for-restoring-house-shrinking-...  

With music such a big part of the Austin scene, it’s no surprise that it is also part of the Norwood House history.

 Joe Austell Small bought the Norwood House in 1961 and was the last private owner ((till the early 80's). He used the house as the headquarters for his western magazine publishing company. One of the magazines he published was called "True West"........it's still published today out of Cave Creek, Arizona.

In the mid 60's Johnny Cash decided to make an album called "The True West". He met Joe Small while on a tour stop here and spent some time at Norwood. Cash writes about that in the liner notes of his album. 

 http://www.stevenmenke.com/TrueWest1.htm

If you don't know how city bureaucracy works, it's puzzling that the Norwood Posse official offer (July, 2011) to our cash starved Parks Dept., to privately finance the rehabilitation of the Norwood House, has not been welcomed with open arms.

Nonetheless, after almost four years of lobbying, and now with Parks Board approval, we are involved in negotiations designed to permit us to begin hands on work. Once started, it will take a lot less than four years........conservatively, one year, to transform  that house into a rentable event center, also available for community use. And that is just the beginning of the PARD planned full development of the Norwood Park into a real gem of a park, at a gateway to Austin......with access to Lady Bird Lake.

As part of the lead-up to hand work beginning, we have assembled a team of professionals who will help us reach the goal. One of these is Heimsath Architects, longtime restoration architects in Austin. They have an interesting blog for anyone interested in architecture, including preservation....in which they happen to be experts.

To see an example of their blog about the Norwood House, click this:

http://blog.heimsath.com/blog-0/bid/72442/Historic-Preservation-Myths-Part-Three

 

As this moves slowly forward, you're invited to offer whatever help you can

just drop a line to:

restorenorwood@yahoo.com

 

 

 

The Norwood Posse saddled up more than 3 1/2 years ago with a vision and a mission..... to bring back the exterior look of the house and open up the inside to make it into a multi-purpose event center.

This pre 1958 photo shows what it once looked like at this time of year.

Ollie & Calie Norwood called it Norcliff. Word has it, that back in the twenties, not every house had a numerical address. Homes were known by the names chosen by their owners. 

Like every home, this one has a unique history....if interested go to the website www.restorenorwood.org

Today, members of the Norwood Posse are thankful that its survival has been officially assured. We have crafted a volunteer/pro-bono/discounted fee based plan, led by professionals in all areas needed, and have begun negotiations with Parks & Recreation Department staff on how, and when, we can begin hands on work. A new year wish is for those talks to proceed quickly, as we are financially prepared, right now, to begin the long overdue rehabilitation.

One day soon, this photo will be re-taken, with a brand new/old house as the focal point. It will be the anchor of the redeveloped Norwood Park, as envisaged by community members, a consultant, and PARD staff. With access to Lady Bird Lake, and located at a gateway point to Austin, it will become  a beautiful, useful, and financially self-sufficient house (event rental), and well known and loved, destination park. 

As the new year approaches, so does our new identity as a 501(c)3.....Norwood Park Foundation

May this time, that brings another year to an end, be one of meaning and inspiration.

 

Wolf Sittler

almost always available at restorenorwood@yahoo.com

 

 

Three and a half years after lobbying for restoration of the Norwood house, we are one step closer:

http://www.kvue.com/news/Austin-Parks-Department-moves-ahead-on-plans-to-renovate-Norwood-House-and-Dog-Park-131673488.html

City of Austin Parks and Recreation  (PARD) staff are poised to negotiate with us to create a public/non-profit partnership to make restoration happen. In view of that, Norwood Posse members are in the process of filing for 501(c)3 status and we will be re-branded as the Norwood Park Foundation.

Even in good times PARD has been underfunded, and that's why we will be counting on donations of time, material and money to underwrite this project. Thanks to a generous offer of a combination gift/loan by a local couple, we can begin the work as soon as agreements are in place. This will be a complex, challenging process, and we will be looking to our community for the support that will bring the house back to life at minimal cost to taxpayers.

For information, suggestions and offers of support contact us at: restorenorwood@yahoo.com

 After studying the six options presented by the consultants, CasaBella Architects, and considering a proposal submitted by the Norwood Posse, PARD staff are recommending that the Norwood House be restored. Discussions are ongoing as to what portions of the six options, and our proposal, will be included in a final "preferred alternative" for the entire property. There is general agreement that an additional facility will be included, along with reconstruction of original structures, expanded parking, improved access, walkways, a water feature, connectivity to Lady Bird Lake, etc. 

As you probably know, our parks department is perpetually underfunded.....one of the reasons the Norwood House is in its present condition. With no PARD funding currently available to do anything at the site, the Norwood Posse continues to promote the creation of a public/private partnership ( we currently have a commitment of $300,000 to jumpstart the process). We are proposing to restore, operate and maintain the house using primarily private funds. Protective action to prevent further deterioration of the structure is recommended and needed ASAP. This includes, new roof covering, more secure fence and security lighting. The remainder of the site redevelopment would begin later, if voters approve a future bond issue that includes the other Norwood Park upgrades agreed to, and approved by, PARD.

Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the house will once again look like it did in the above photo. The inside of the house is to be reconfigured to meet the needs of an event center available for public rental ( and perhaps some other uses). The design of the rest of the Norwood Park is seen to be driven by the scale and character of this once excellent example of an Arts & Crafts bungalow.

If our proposal is accepted by the City of Austin, the Norwood Posse will dismount and rebrand for the next phase of this adventure. The plan is to form a 501 (c)(3) that will be called the Norwood Park Foundation. The objective is to use all available resources, including volunteers (as appropriate), grants, donations of services, money, and materials to accomplish the objective in a cost effective and timely manner. Many citizens have offered to help with this project, and it is our intent to call upon civic minded taxpayers to help transform this property into a beautiful and useful addition to our public park system.

T

 

On July 19, Norwood Posse members presented a preliminary house restoration proposal to senior PARD staff. We focused just on the house and immediate grounds. Our estimated cost of $600,000 may be a bit low, but does not include donations of time, money, services, and materials. Our proposal is privately funded and work could commence with a combination $300,000 loan/gift from a private investor. If approval is received, additional sources of funding (grants, donations, etc.) would be pursued.The basic idea is to restore/reconstruct the house, maintain and operate it at no cost to PARD. Revenue generated by its use as an event center is projected to yield, after expenses, more than $100,000 annually for park upgrades.

Li Tong of Heimsath Architects created this "fly around" rendering of a reconstructed house: 

 

On July 20, CasaBella hosted the third community input meeting and presented their six options for redevelopment of the entire park.      http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/norwoodtract.htm    These options show estimated costs and revenue. Two of them include a restored house and the remainder feature new structures where the house now is. Since no public funds are available now to implement any option, these would be sought via a 2012 bond election. The options with new structures could only be considered if historic zoning is removed from the house. In view of the fact that the Historic Landmark Commission, the Planning Commission and the City Council all approved this zoning, it seems that removing it would be a challenge without precedent.

You are invited to submit your comments and questions to restorenorwood@yahoo.com