Covington has sued The Frank Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center Inc., owner of the Duveneck House on Greenup Street, to act as a conservator for the “blighted building.”
Covington is using the new legal tool “Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act,” created in 2022, to bring an action that appoints a conservator to take possession of and undertake the rehabilitation of an abandoned or blighted building. In the petition, Covington outlines its rehabilitation plan to help stabilize the building, which is estimated to cost at least $155,000 or more as problems are uncovered.
The Frank Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center Inc., President, Charles Alexander, is also named in the petition, which describes the property at 1226 Greenup St. as “dilapidated and in a deplorable state of repair.” The building has also received repeated citations and fines for neglect and violation of the city’s building codes. The petition states that the building has been left vacant for “a period of years.”
LINK nky has made multiple attempts to reach Alexander, but he has not responded for comment.
The house was where renowned artist, sculptor and teacher Frank Duveneck grew up, built by his stepfather in 1861. The family operated a beer garden there, and it was expanded in 1875. He eventually returned to live there full-time; Duveneck painted in the studio built behind the house around 1900 and was living there when he died in 1919.
Duveneck is considered one of the most celebrated American artists of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He painted in the style of Realism, and his work can be seen at places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
The Duveneck House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 29, 2015, according to the Kentucky Heritage Council.
“The complaint speaks for itself,” according to a statement the city of Covington shared with LINK nky. “As the childhood home of internationally known painter, sculptor and art instructor Frank Duveneck, the building at 1226 Greenup St. is culturally and historically significant not only to Covington but to the world. If steps aren’t taken immediately to preserve it, it will be lost forever.
“After years and years of fruitless and discouraging efforts to get the organization that owns the building to address its ‘dangerous and deplorable’ condition, the city, as a last resort, is asking the court to let it step in to save the building and use its resources and a new legal tool called the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act. For now, the city will have no other comment on this litigation.”
Defects on the exterior of the property, as listed by Covington in the petition, include:
- It has an open foundation that allows water and animals in.
- The south wall is bowing and is no longer stable.
- The house’s “balloon frame” makes it a fire hazard.
- The roof is in disrepair and endangers the structural integrity of the building.
A resident from Covington’s Austinburg neighborhood, Joanie Brun, said she would like to see the house preserved and offered some of her thoughts on how she would like to see the space used.
“I was absolutely amazed when I discovered that Frank Duveneck’s former home, which should have been preserved to honor the late artist, is currently in a state of disrepair,” Brun said. “Architecture has always held a special place in my heart, just like many others before me. As an artist myself, I found inspiration in Duveneck’s house, which motivated me to focus my senior thesis on raising awareness about the condition of this historic landmark.”
Brun said she was happy to learn that the city was interested in restoring the home. She said that this “presents an incredible opportunity for the community. It would be fantastic to witness the restoration of the original beer garden, with the added twist of offering beer-making classes for adults while also utilizing Frank’s former studio as an after-school art program for children in the community.”
The city does not outline specific uses for the house should they succeed in their stabilization plans; however, the petition states, “Some of that money can and will be used to hire engineers who will render opinions about the best way to stabilize the house and to keep it from collapsing and who can render other opinions about the proper way to bring the house to a place where it can be occupied and used again as a residence or for other purposes.”
According to the petition, the city has communicated with the owner on “several occasions” over the last few years. They said they have also sent a letter to the owner offering to work with them to remedy the problems with the house. The petition states that the owner responded with no specific plans to bring the property up to code.
The city has inspected the exterior of the building but has not had recent access to the inside.
Should Covington be granted conservatorship, the city said in the petition that it would develop a final plan. They will also ask the court to be granted access inside the building to inspect and evaluate the final plan.
The city’s initial estimate for the work to stabilize the building is $155,000, but the work is not all that is necessary to make the house habitable or usable for a particular purpose.
The scope of work to prevent the property from collapsing, according to the city, includes:
- Replacement of approximately 25 feet of stone foundation wall with a concrete one, backfilling and securing footings of the building and removal of spoils and debris.
- Replacement of a significant percentage of floor joists, floor sheathing and framing members.
- Remove and replace siding and reinforce framing studs.
- Roof repairs and found and needed.
