Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Grade Expectations: Workers prepare the site of a new office building that will stand behind the Buffington House.




New office building replaces two houses on site of historic home

Offices' design will complement the style of the Buffington House

By Kate Carter

Two houses on the site of the historic Buffington House were demolished on Aug. 31, to make way for a new commercial building on the landmark site. The project will add 7,500 square feet of office space behind the original 1905 home and will share many of its Victorian architectural features.

The project was first approved by the city planning department in 1992, but that approval languished until the property owner brought it back for another approval in July 1999.

Construction should be completed in six to nine months, said Stan Queen, operations manager for Pacific Diversified Company Inc., that will oversee the construction on the site.

Pacific Diversified owner David H. Pitzen bought the Buffington House site at 1228 Lincoln Ave. in 1987 and rehabilitated it that year, Queen said.

Pitzen had planned to raze the other two houses on the property and build a second two-story building that would blend with the Victorian style of the Buffington House in 1992, Queen said, but financial constraints put the project on hold until 1999.

The city's Historic Landmarks Commission reviewed the two buildings in 1992 and determined that they didn't have historical or architectural value, Queen said.


Photograph courtesy of Lynn Disalvi

Knockdown: This duplex and another house behind the Buffington House were demolished Aug. 31.




The commission wanted to see the plans again in 1999 before approving the new construction.

"Anytime you work around a historical house, the Historic Landmarks Commission wants to review what you build," Queen said.

He said that the society wanted to keep the Buffington House the focus of the site and asked that the colors used on the new building be slightly different from those on the historic home. The commission also required a tree partially obscuring the new building to remain.

The upper level of the new building will be occupied by Century 21, Santa Clara Valley Associates, which is now a tenant in Buffington House. The lower level of the new building will include covered parking for 32 cars and additional office space. Another part of the main building will also be for commercial use.

The new building will stand about 20 feet behind Buffington House. It will have wood siding, windows, dormers and archways that match Buffington House, said Joe Randazzo, managing broker for Century 21 SCVA. It will be roofed with a cathedral ceiling and a skylight at the ridge over the second floor.

The upper floor of the new building will accommodate about 70 real estate agents, Randazzo said, or 20 more than are working there now.

"We're hoping to increase the number of agents there, with the great location downtown and the great building," Randazzo said.


Rendering courtesy of Pacific Diversified, Inc.

Copycat: The new office building will sit just behind the Buffington House, and mimic its historic architecture.




When construction is completed and Century 21 has relocated, Pacific Diversified will move its offices to the Buffington House.

"We do home construction," said Queen. "We're excited to be able to work out of a historic Victorian home."

The Buffington House was designed by architect Frank D. Wolfe. It was bought by Howard and Lulu Buffington in 1923. In 1937, the house was converted into two apartments and eventually zoned as commercial property.

The Historic Landmarks Commission designated Buffington House a Historic Landmark in 1986.

One of the old homes that was demolished was rebuilt in 1938 and used by Mrs. Buffington as her home after her husband died. Pacific Diversified used the house as office space before it was torn down.

The other auxiliary building was a duplex built above a four-car garage. Half of it was used by Century 21, SCVA, as a training complex.

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