A historic renovation: Belmont's Emmett House to reopen

After years of renovations, Belmont’s historic Emmett House is finally set to reopen after being moved from its original home on Ralston Avenue in 2008.

The historic structure was first constructed in 1885 and bought by the city in 1998 for about $750,000.

Emmett House was relocated on a rainy night in January 2008, when hundreds of people braved the elements to watch the structure move from its original location to its new resting place on O’Neill Avenue near City Hall.

Since the move, it has been renovated and remodeled into a two-unit residential building that will provide low- to moderate-income housing for local families.

The tenants will move in next month, said Denny Lawhern, president of the Belmont Historical Society.

In total, the purchase and renovation of the building will cost about $2 million, Lawhern said. A significant portion of the money came from the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

Lawhern has spent more than 12 years with the Emmett House and has attended more than 120 meetings related to the structure. Initially, the city intended to renovate the structure at its original resting place.

"The project was redefined so many times with new councils, new planning commissions and new city managers,” Lawhern said.

Lawhern is happy the project is almost done.

"What a sense of completion,” Lawhern said. "Maybe now I can go out of town for a week without worrying about it.”

The original Emmett cottage was built in the mid-1880s, with the second story added in 1899. Some modifications were made to the building over the years, including its change of use from residential to commercial and office space and removal of its wraparound porch. For a time, the house was even a sanitarium.

The integrity of the original structure remained, however, and it survived its 2008 move intact. A number of its historic components have been restored, including the porch and the widow’s walk. The infrastructure has been upgraded to meet all current building codes, including plumbing, mechanical and electrical. A detached two-car garage is also included on the site.

The two units are three bedrooms each and are reserved for families who qualify for affordable rent.

In 1990, the San Mateo County Historical Association conducted a State Office of Historic Preservation Historic Resources Inventory and as a result, in 1992 Belmont declared the building a historic landmark under the city’s Historic Resources Ordinance.

The Belmont Historical Society applied for registration of the house on the National Register, however, it was rejected due to the extent of modifications made to the building.

Lawhern intends to reapply for the federal designation based on who the home’s original owner was.

In the 30 years between 1880 and 1910, Walter Alfred Emmett became Belmont’s leading merchant, according to city documents. He purchased a general store from Carl F. Janke at the northwest corner of the Old County Road in 1880 in partnership with Matthew O’Neill. He bought out O’Neill in 1888, and acquired the Belmont Soda Works in 1892. By 1893, he owned the entire block on the north side of The Corners and constructed a livery stable, according to city documents.

Emmett was a one-man Chamber of Commerce, Lawhern said.

The house sits adjacent to the Belmont Creek across from the Twin Pines Senior and Community Center and directly across the street from the Beli Deli on Sixth Avenue.

Gin Nikoloff, the deli’s owner, is excited the project is done.

"I’m delighted they completed. It sat idle for a while and was an eyesore,” Nikoloff said. "Everybody’s pretty happy.”

The city will hold a ribbon-cutting next weekend to celebrate the reopening as the historic aspect of the renovations will be finished.

"It has taken a long time to save our Emmett House,” said Mayor Coralin Feierbach. "There were concerns raised from the neighborhood about relocating the building to this new site. However, when one looks at it now, we were right, it can be done.”

A celebration of the completion of renovations for Belmont’s historic Emmett House is set for Saturday, March 19, 3 p.m., 1000 O’Neill Ave. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.