Louisville council to consider Giorzelli House landmark, $136,000 incentive package

Louisville City Council is scheduled to consider designating the circa-1906 house at 1013 La Farge Avenue as the Giorzelli House and awarding up to $136,000 for preservation work at its Aug. 18 meeting, Resolution No. 77, Series 2026 shows.

Because the meeting is still in the future, the available record does not establish that the council has approved the designation or awards. The packet includes a resolution dated Aug. 18 but no transcript or voting record.

The proposed package includes a $7,700 residential landmark incentive and up to $128,300 from Louisville’s Historic Preservation Fund: $63,000 for residential work, $20,000 for structural work, $23,000 for qualifying new construction and $22,300 for extraordinary circumstances. City staff identified moving the house and replacing its foundation as qualifying work because they were considered vital improvements identified in an approved historic structure assessment.

The landmark incentive would not require a match. The other grants generally require the applicant to provide a 100% match through cash expenditures or approved in-kind work, the city’s preservation-fund rules say. Applications generally must be submitted within 36 months of landmarking, and grant-funded work and reimbursement requests must be completed within 60 months. The records do not identify project-specific milestones, a construction deadline or terms of an executed grant agreement.

The owners’ grant application and project estimate describe a roughly $1.23 million project. About $377,000 is estimated for historic work and $855,752 for a proposed nonhistoric addition. The plan would temporarily move or lift the house, replace its foundation with a higher foundation and drainage improvements, return the house to essentially its historic location, and complete structural, exterior and systems work.

The historic structure assessment found the existing foundation in fair-to-poor condition, citing undermined stone walls, unsupported soil cuts, cracked concrete and potentially inadequate footings. It recommended engineering review and possible replacement while warning that additional defects could emerge during investigative deconstruction.

The record contains no building-permit number, moving or demolition permit, construction start date, completion date or evidence that the house has been moved or foundation work has begun. The application says preservation design review, zoning review, building permits and building-code approvals must be obtained before work starts. Grant approval alone would not authorize construction.

The Historic Preservation Commission approved an alteration certificate July 20. The certificate requires the historic chimney to be restored to match a 1948 assessor photograph and two specified windows to match their historic locations and sizes, the commission’s resolution says.

If the council approves landmark status, future exterior changes would require city preservation review, including additions, garages, fences and other structures, the city’s preservation guidance says. Substantial demolition or removal could also trigger review for pre-1955 structures and a delay of up to 180 days, the city’s demolition-review page explains.

The city’s records use two names for the property: The July 20 Historic Preservation Commission resolution calls it the Di Francia House, while the council measure calls it the Giorzelli House. The council measure’s name is used here because it is the resolution scheduled for consideration.