Membership Drive

It's a new year and time for our 2007 membership drive. Households will soon receive reminders on paper, but you could go ahead and send your dues to our Treasurer, Robert Packwood, at 1301 Harbert. Dues are $10 for individuals or $20 for a household.

Where does the money go, you ask? Well, it is used for neighborhood events. Some of the events in the past have been:

• Neighborhood cleanup (trash bags, plants, food for the after-party)
• Halloween Party (games, goodies, fliers)
• Meetings (refreshments, photocopies and sometimes a babysitter)

Don't just send your dues, though, send your ideas! What events would you like to have this year? We look forward to hearing from you.

Properties on the Market

There are some recent real estate listings of interest in our neighborhood.


1324 Vinton is for sale with an asking price of about 180K. It is listed as a duplex but looks like a good candidate for conversion to single family.


The apartment building at 1337 Vinton is listed at just under 300K. This is one of several ugly units that were built here in the early 70's. Is there someone willing to buy this as a tear-off and build a single home? Probably not yet. I won't post a picture of this . . . edifice, as it would probably crack your computer screen.




Here is 1330 Vinton. Not exactly a recent listing, but restoration of the Broens house will probably raise its stock quite a bit. It's an interesting house and one of the few in Annesdale Park with a true central hallway.

Board Meeting

Last night's APA Board Meeting featured Nancy Jane Baker from the Landmarks Commission. Ms. Baker reviewed a number of issues of concern to us and made a proposal to assist in clarifying our Design Review Guidelines. We will have more details on this process, which will be a great opportunity to update our rather vague guidelines that we share with several other Landmarks districts. A tip of the hat to Robert Packwood for taking the lead in this effort.

We also discussed ways to "green up" our area. Keep a look-out for more info on this via Cathy Winterburn.

For those of you who like to plan ahead, here is the Event Schedule (so far) for the Annesdale Park Association:

APA Board Meeting 3/13/07 at 6 p.m. Destiny Diner Grill (formerly Printers Alley Grill)

General Neighborhood Meeting 3/25/07 at 5 p.m. St. John 's UMC

Neighborhood Clean-Up 4/14/07 at 9 a.m. Location TBA

Know Your Real Estate!

We are fortunate in Shelby County to have two very useful research tools to determine the current and past ownership of our homes. For current information and appraised value go to the Assessor. It also contains information on recent sales and building permits.

The Register of Deeds provides direct access to the recorded deeds showing transfers of ownership and mortgages. It also links to the GIS system, which is a map of every property in Shelby County with aerial views. You can click from one lot to the other down a street and find the current owners of the property. You can also search for historical information on births, deaths and marriages.

And best of all, these valuable resources are free and available 24/7, courtesy of Shelby County taxpayers.

Restoration and Renovation Showcase

Here is a picture of the John Broens House taken a couple years ago. It sits prominently on the corner of Vinton and Cleveland and has been steadily disintegrating for a number of years. The roof leaked like a sieve and caused major damage. The City had even gone so far as to condemn the property. Mr. Broens died last year and left his property to St. Jude, who sold the house to a professional renovator, John Blose. His crew began work in late January.

A more recent photo taken over the weekend shows that the old slate roof has been removed and new decking installed where needed:


The back of the house had caved in due to water damage. It is now being reconstructed:



From time to time we will post pictures showing the restoration. Talk about a Handy Man's Special!

Restoration and Renovation Showcase

This former home of a past Governor of the state of Tennessee, known in the neighborhood as the "Governor's House" was converted to apartments many years ago. The owner, who lives nearby, undertook this dramatic transformation to remove the asbestos siding and upstairs porch enclosure. Well done!!

Welcome

Hello!

This is a fresh attempt for Annesdale Park at a neighborhood information point on the web. Thanks for stopping by - we hope to add lots more information and updates soon.