Save Historical Sutherland House
Donation protected
On July 22nd, one of Flint's Historical homes was victim of extensive Fire damage as a result of an act of ARSON committed to the house next door which was a vacant rotting structure owned by Hurley Medical Center.
The "Sutherland House" was built in 1903 by Joseph Dunbar in Flint's "Carriage Town" district as a wedding present to his daughter Lena & her new husband Frank Sutherland who later went on to become Flint's Police Chief. The house was very well built having fine woodwork & decorative finials all throughout. The built-in front porch floor was laid with Flint Faience Tiles. I paid cash in full & purchased the house in December of 2014 to restore & move into it this fall. For 8 months I worked inside replacing missing wiring, plumbing, lighting fixtures, glass knob door hardware, and radiators.
Most of the original plaster walls, woodwork, pocket doors, french doors & wood floors were intact & in great condition.
The fire destroyed the entire roof & 3rd floor finished attic room which included a bathroom & kitchenette area, & most of the 2nd floor which has 4 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. Smoke & water further damaged the rest of the house & all the ceilings fell down & the interior had to be gutted down to the studs. The house is still standing straight & structurally sound & is savable but I do not have the budget it will now take to bring it back to where it was before this tragedy. Because this was an Arson, the Medical center who owned the next door house that burned felt it was not their fault, so they offered NO compensation or help in any way with my loss. I lost everything I invested.
My desire is to try & save this wonderful Historic home & continue with my renovation. I couldn't carry Insurance on the house due to the fact that I was not living in it during renovations & that the Hurley house next door was a vacant, semi-boarded, rotting structure.
I am asking for donations to rebuild the roof and then begin working on the interior to get this house back to the condition it was in before the fire so I can continue the restoration into a single family home.
I do not want to see another wonderful home to be erased from Flint's History!
The "Sutherland House" was built in 1903 by Joseph Dunbar in Flint's "Carriage Town" district as a wedding present to his daughter Lena & her new husband Frank Sutherland who later went on to become Flint's Police Chief. The house was very well built having fine woodwork & decorative finials all throughout. The built-in front porch floor was laid with Flint Faience Tiles. I paid cash in full & purchased the house in December of 2014 to restore & move into it this fall. For 8 months I worked inside replacing missing wiring, plumbing, lighting fixtures, glass knob door hardware, and radiators.
Most of the original plaster walls, woodwork, pocket doors, french doors & wood floors were intact & in great condition.
The fire destroyed the entire roof & 3rd floor finished attic room which included a bathroom & kitchenette area, & most of the 2nd floor which has 4 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. Smoke & water further damaged the rest of the house & all the ceilings fell down & the interior had to be gutted down to the studs. The house is still standing straight & structurally sound & is savable but I do not have the budget it will now take to bring it back to where it was before this tragedy. Because this was an Arson, the Medical center who owned the next door house that burned felt it was not their fault, so they offered NO compensation or help in any way with my loss. I lost everything I invested.
My desire is to try & save this wonderful Historic home & continue with my renovation. I couldn't carry Insurance on the house due to the fact that I was not living in it during renovations & that the Hurley house next door was a vacant, semi-boarded, rotting structure.
I am asking for donations to rebuild the roof and then begin working on the interior to get this house back to the condition it was in before the fire so I can continue the restoration into a single family home.
I do not want to see another wonderful home to be erased from Flint's History!
Organizer
Ron Luczak
Organizer
Flint, MI
