The Defense Supply Center Richmond plans to raze three historic structures on the 600-acre property in southern Chesterfield County as part of its long-range plans.
But demolition of the buildings, scheduled for earlier this year, has been postponed as the State Historic Preservation Office reviews the plans to ensure they comply with federal historic preservation law.
Under the Department of Defense, the supply center is the primary supply source for more than 1.3 million repair parts and operating supply items for 1,300 major weapons systems. More than 444,000 of the items are aviation parts.
Of the buildings slated for demolition, one was originally constructed in 1901 as two separate structures on the 2,400-acre farm James Bellwood operated on the property. The structures were later joined. Bellwood's son lived in the home until 1941, when the government purchased the property.
Since then, the home has served as the commanding officer's quarters.
Two other structures built in 1947, which served as military family housing, are also scheduled for demolition this year as part of a new master plan for the supply center, said Debra Bingham, chief of public affairs for DSCR.
The supply center "has determined that renovation or rehabilitation of the existing facilities is not economically feasible," she said, adding that DSCR's changing mission calls for upgrades to the facilities for security reasons and elimination of military housing.
The demolitions were put on hold to allow the State Historic Preservation Office to work out an agreement with the DSCR on how to proceed.
"It will call for standard things like documentation of those resources before they're demolished and things of that sort so there's a clear record of what was there," said Randy Jones with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
"They're demolishing historic resources that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places," he said, noting that it is not unusual but requires compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
The DSCR falls within the Bellwood-Richmond Quartermaster Depot Historic District. The Bellwood mansion, on the DSCR campus, is already on the National Register of Historic Places and a registered historic landmark in Virginia and Chesterfield County.
Demolition is on hold until at least the first quarter of 2010, the DSCR says, and additional buildings will be razed in later stages of the master plan's implementation.
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.
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