The once-commercial Tudor-style building will become a private residence, keeping the original street facing facade.
The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee approved the conversion of a Prospect Street building Jan 13, moving the project to the La Jolla Community Planning Association for ratification.
The project at 836 Prospect Street is a historically-designated structure; the plans would convert it from a commercial building to a private residence with subterranean garage and a junior accessory dwelling unit.
Courtesy of Dawn and Bill Davidson
First reviewed at DPR Dec 16 and finally Jan 13, the project met with generally positive trustee feedback for its adaptive reuse of a historic resource.
The facade of the home, originally constructed in 1922, will remain intact, applicant representative Chandra Slaven said Dec 16; the only exterior changes will be the subterranean garage.
“We can’t touch the house itself, because it’s historic,” Slaven said, but the alley side of the house, where the garage will be, can be changed as that portion was remodeled in the 1970s and is excluded from the historic designation.”
Property owners and local designers Dawn and Bill Davidson offered requested information about the landscaping, closed-up windows, and alley-side facade Jan 13.
Courtesy of Dawn and Bill Davidson
The “landscape vision is an English garden in keeping with current architectural vernacular,” Dawn said.
Opening the bricked-in windows is not an option, she said, as the commercial use of the building places staircases and other features there.
The closed-in windows are not visible from the street, Dawn added.
The back of the building will maintain colors and design in keeping with the rest of the structure.
“We’ve learned more about what the garage arrangement is. We’ve learned a lot more about the inside, which I really appreciate. I’m really glad you talked to your contractor and have a sense that this can be constructed without killing the alley,” DPR trustee Greg Jackson said.
Courtesy of Dawn and Bill Davidson
