Hitch stalls historic homes’ sale
Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 28, 2006
EVERETT – The “For Sale” signs in front of the houses are marked “sold,” but the devil in the details is holding the handoff in limbo.
Days before Historic Everett was to close escrow on two rundown relics in the 2100 block of Rucker Avenue, a name from the past put the deal on hold.
A deceased brother of the properties’ deceased owner showed up on some paperwork.
“Now everybody’s trying to figure out how to get two dead men off title,” Historic Everett Treasurer Valerie Steel said.
Historic Everett hired Drew Nielsen, an Everett attorney and city councilman, to help.
The nonprofit group that works to preserve the city’s architectural heritage plans to spruce up one of the dilapidated houses.
The century-old foursquare-style wooden house at 2112 Rucker Ave. the group wants to save was once the home of Howard Sprague Wright.
Wright founded the Howard S. Wright Construction Co., which built the Space Needle and Seattle Center for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.
In May, the Seattle-based Washington Trust for Historic Preservation placed the 2,800-square-foot house with sweeping views of Port Gardner on its annual “most endangered historic properties” list.
The property on which that house and a neighboring house sit could be developed into a 24-unit condominium development under the city’s zoning rules.
Historic Everett President Bill Belshaw, a former county parks planner, wanted to safeguard the building from demolition so much, he decided to bankroll the purchase.
If the deal goes through, he said, he may open the project to other investors and form a limited liability company.
In addition to the Wright house, he agreed to buy the house next to it, as well as a duplex on the west side of the property.
“Everybody involved is just as frustrated as I am,” Belshaw said.
He declined to say how much he agreed to pay for the properties until the deal goes through.
The three buildings were owned by Arthur Hopkins, who died in a fire at his Colby Avenue home in 2004.
The 84-year-old man owned at least 15 parcels in the Everett area. Many were strewn with trash and had racked up numerous city code violations.
Hopkins’ heirs were ready to sell the Rucker Avenue properties to Belshaw when the second name was spotted on the title.
Walter Hopkins preceded Arthur Hopkins in death, but was never taken off the title.
Now the sale is hung up on a technicality, those on both sides of the transaction say.
Steel, a real estate agent who is representing Historic Everett and an investor in the deal, said this is the first time she has come across such a problem.
Randy Haynes, the agent selling the homes, sees things differently.
“It’s just typical real estate stuff,” said Haynes, who works for Windermere Real Estate’s Auburn office. “It’s just a matter of ironing out a few wrinkles.”
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
