Moultonborough’s Taylor House featured as 'Save This Old House'

MOULTONBOROUGH — The historic Taylor House is featured as the ‘Save This Old House’ for sale in the March April 2020 issue of 'This Old House' magazine. The town-owned landmark at the center of the village was listed for sale at $62,700 in December 2019, and advocates for the building’s preservation hope that national visibility will help find an investor for its redevelopment. Moultonborough’s 2020 town warrant includes Article 19, seeking $75,000 to demolish the house, if an appropriate buyer is not found. A vote will be taken on Article 19 at town meeting.

Significant both for its architecture and community history, the Taylor House is considered an historic asset by state advocates and in recent planning studies focusing on Moultonborough Village revitalization.

In November 2019, the Town’s Planning Board voted to support the sale of the Taylor House, and Planning Board Chair Scott Bartlett presented a letter to the Board of Selectmen requesting ‘immediate action’ to list the property with a professional real estate agent. Bartlett noted, "there is no compelling reason to demolish...before all attempts to market it have been explored.”

The Taylor House was added to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s ‘Seven to Save’ statewide endangered property list in October 2017, after town officials started to discuss demolition. In an October 2019 letter urging the Board of Selectmen to list the house for sale, the alliance’s Executive Director Jennifer Goodman wrote, “We believe that demolition of the Taylor House is premature and unwarranted.” She continued, “From our experience involved in scores of community projects around the state, we know that it takes time and the right alignment of seller and buyer interests and market forces for redevelopment plans to come together.”

State preservation leaders emphasize that saving historic properties and retaining small-town character are essential in efforts to attract investment, draw new residents and visitors, support local businesses, and promote economic vitality. The French-Taylor House was added to the honorary New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2019, providing benefits for rehabilitation including special consideration or relief in the application of access, building, and safety codes. In addition, the house qualifies for RSA 79-E, the Community Revitalization Tax Relief Incentive Program, which encourages investment with the rehabilitation and active re-use of historic buildings by providing temporary tax relief for 5-13 years.

Since March 2017, when severe winds damaged the house’s roofing, the Moultonborough Heritage Commission has focused on finding a future use for the property.

When the Board of Selectmen again started to discuss demolition of the Taylor House in September 2019, Commission chair Cristina Ashjian wrote, “There is not a single Moultonborough planning study that recommends demolition of any community landmark. Instead, recent studies and public opinion demonstrate that Moultonborough residents value historic buildings, and support finding active new uses for them.” She cited that 84% of respondents to the town’s Village Vision survey supported preserving and repurposing historic buildings, and the Village Vision Report was endorsed at Town Meeting in March 2015. Since then, other studies and public input have confirmed those findings.

The Taylor House is listed for sale with the 603 Property Group. For professional historical and current condition reports, visit moultonboroughnh.gov/heritage-commission.