One of Richmond’s oldest buildings being demolished

By Monday, it will be gone.

The redevelopment of the property is not without pushback. Jennie Dotts, a longtime preservationist and real estate agent, is upset by the situation.

“It’s breaking my heart because it is ripping some fabric out of the city and all I have to do is look at the vile new construction behind it to see that this is what’s going to replace it,” Dotts said. “The developer says they have no plans for it.”

According to city assessors’ online records, the property was purchased in September 2022 by BSA Grace LLC for $3.3 million. According to State Corporation Commission records, BSA Grace is registered to James Christian Kiniry, who is principal for Bank Street Advisors. When contacted by phone, a representative for Bank Street Advisors said it could not comment.

Kiniry told Richmond BizSense on Thursday that “we’ve been open about our plans, and those plans are underway.”

Groups like the Historic Richmond Foundation as well as private citizens have been outspoken on preserving the building since it was purchased in 2022.

In a statement, Cyane Crump with the Historic Richmond Foundation said the group met with the new owner and appreciates his consideration of its request to have the home photographed.

“The Call House situation is an illustration of a problem that we are seeing across Richmond and especially Downtown,” the statement said, “where demolition permits are being issued without consideration for what is being demolished, why it is being demolished, or what is going to replace it (if anything).”

The Daniel Call House does not have any protections or historic easements. The building does not sit within the City Old & Historic District, according to the Historic Richmond Foundation.

John Hebberd has been a friend and colleague of Dotts for about 20 years. Alongside like-minded Richmonders, the pair was recently able to protect the Second Baptist Church next to The Jefferson Hotel.

Dotts has dedicated decades of her career to protecting the history of Richmond. She worked with the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, where she says she helped save 100 homes. She was also the development PR director for the Historic Richmond Foundation.

Dotts says she asked Kiniry to pause the demolition and offered to have an expert survey the building. She said she was denied access due to “structural safety issues.”

Richmond police said there has been at least one report of trespassing and a few parties at the house. Police said two large, unauthorized gatherings were shut down earlier this year. Shortly after, city officials inspected and placarded the structure due to unsafe conditions.

“We’re somewhere between outrage and sadness,” Dotts said. “Sadness because I was fortunate to know this building. Now people who come through here will have no memory of it. You can’t replace that; it’s so sad.”

The Daniel Call House was built in the 18th century, with the earliest record dating to 1796. The original location of the building belonging to John Hopkins was at Ninth and Broad streets.

The house got its name when it was sold in 1798 to Daniel Call, a well-known Richmond attorney. Call was both a friend and brother-in-law to Chief Justice John Marshall, taking over his legal practice at one point. Marshall was a Founding Father and the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I love old buildings because that is how you tell the story of a city and its people,” Dotts said.

In the mid-1840s, the house was sold and relocated by Alexander Brooks to its current location at Madison and West Grace streets. The house has been sold several times since then and has taken on a variety of uses. The Daniel Call House has acted as a school, the Frank A. Bliley funeral home and, in the 1990s, it served as the location for the VCU Perinatal Addiction Unit.

In a Richmond Times-Dispatch article from the 1950s, the Daniel Call House is listed, ironically, under “Examples of Preservation.” The piece focused on the argument of preservation versus progress in the city’s redevelopment:

“Will downtown Richmond soon consist only of the slick, streamlined buildings of the twentieth century or will there remain the occasional reminders of the past which give a city its character?”

Dotts echoed that sentiment as she motioned to the newer office buildings and apartments nearby.

“We are arguably the most, if not one of the most historic cities in America,” she said. “And look around, tell me what you’re seeing that’s historic.”

Dotts warns that newer buildings are often made with inferior materials and contribute to the “eroding character” of neighborhoods. While it is too late for the Daniel Call House, Dotts says there are still a number of state-owned buildings that are slated for demolition.

“I’m going to focus our energy on that and we’re going to make sure that this is known, this is observed, and this should never happen again,” Dotts said.

The Historic Richmond Foundation has proposed that the city pursues a Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan. Crump says that would give the community more of a voice.

Dotts and Hebberd say there will be a “funeral service” for the Daniel Call House at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the demolition site.

“The past life of this building is just being obliterated. It’s so tragic and so unnecessary,” Dotts said. “This was completely preventable.”