A Jacksonville City Council committee voted June 3 to support plans to renovate a 120-year-old residence in Springfield and build one next door that will combine a yesteryear design with modern energy efficiency technology.
The Land Use and Zoning Committee voted 7-0 in favor of a request to rezone two adjacent properties along West Sixth Street between Main and Laura streets from Commercial Community General-Springfield to Commercial Residential Office-Springfield for Jacksonville-based TerraWise Homes’ building and renovation project.
The property at 36 W. Sixth St. contains a home built in 1905, and the lot next door is vacant.
David Shacter, the founder and president of TerraWise, says the company plans an adaptive reuse of the existing home as offices.
Shacter said TerraWise, which is headquartered at 1334 Walnut St. in Springfield, will either move its company offices into the main part of the renovated home or possibly a secondary garage area.
TerraWise specializes in new residential construction in older neighborhoods such as Springfield and Arlington. Shacter said TerraWise offers several different styles and floor plans that are designed to “fit in both contextually and visually” with surrounding residences.
In the adjacent lot next door to 36 W. Sixth St., TerraWise plans to build a model home in the style of its Grand Sweetwater plan. That model is a three-story home comprising two stories of living space topped by an attic. The 2,983-square-foot structure features six bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Shacter said the circa-1905 home will be renovated in a way that would allow it to be reused as a residence.
Shacter and his son, Jac, the vice president of operations for the company, say TerraWise homes are designed to use 50% less energy than standard code-built new residential construction. Toward that end, the company uses high-efficiency water heaters and climate control systems, energy-efficient windows and twice as much attic insulation as standard homes.
The company builds the walls of its homes with 2-by-6 framing instead of 2-by-4s and fills them with spray foam insulation. The result is thicker walls with fewer gaps through which air can travel, which also improves efficiency.
The rezoning request is contained in Ordinance 2025-0273.
According to a report on the ordinance from the city Planning and Development Department, David Shacter owns the West Sixth Street lots through Harmony Family Group LLC.
Lara Hipps of Hipps Group Inc. is the property owner’s agent and applicant.
The report says the lots are within the Springfield Historic District and Overlay, meaning any new construction or external renovations to the structure will require review by the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission.
The staff report says Commercial Residential Office zoning is considered downzoning “by removing the more intense commercial uses allowed within the CCG-S zoning district and allowing for a more gradual transition of uses from commercial along Main Street North and residential to the west.”
Staff recommended approval of the request with no exceptions, and the Jacksonville Planning Commission endorsed it with a 7-0 vote May 22.
With the LUZ’s approval, the ordinance advances to the full City Council for a final vote.