It was fine inside. Floors were fine, there was one loose step on the stairway going up but the walls were fine it just has to have a little bit of cosmetic work.”

— Susan Anderson, Tiverton Historic Preservation Advisory Board

Nobody took care of the thing, you know. It’s a sad commentary.”

— Bristol developer John Lannan

With the destruction of the historic Lafayette House still fresh in Tiverton’s collective memory, another 18th century home could be next in line for the wrecking ball.

Bristol developer John Lannan has applied for and received a permit to demolish the Joseph R. Hicks House at 439 Main Road. It is the oldest surviving home in north Tiverton.

The 439 Developers LLC purchased the home and the two acres on which it sits for $251,000 in November 2022, and Lannan said the plan is to tear down the 1780 home and put in a condominium development with eight housing units, two of which would be designated as affordable.

“I do have the approvals but I think we’re waiting for one more state permit from memory, but other than that we’re ready to go," Lannan said.

Any construction will have to wait until after the winter. But in the meantime, Lannan said a historical survey will be completed, and video will be taken to present to the town for historical purposes.

As Lannan's condominium plan includes an affordable housing component, he applied for a comprehensive permit before the Tiverton Planning Board and was approved unanimously in mid-November. Comprehensive permits are called for under the state’s affordable housing regulations, and allow developers expedited, streamlined town approvals for projects that contain affordable housing components if the town in which their planned has less than 10 percent of its stock designated as affordable. Few, if any, cities and towns in Rhode Island meet that 10 percent standard, including Tiverton.

At that November meeting, board members acknowledged that the house is historic but is owned by a private citizen legally allowed to demolish it.

Lafayette House parallels?

Interim Town Administrator Patrick Jones said last week that the difference between Lannan's plan and the Lafayette House, which surprised almost everyone when it was torn down last month, is that Lannan has been in contact with the town’s Historic Preservation Advisory Board, something that was not done with the Lafayette House.

“On this one, historical preservation is speaking with the owner and I do believe that everything is falling in line with the current ordinances,” Jones said, adding that the town is currently very limited in what it can do to preserve older homes.

Even so, the advisory board’s Susan Anderson and Lannan have different opinions on the current state of the home. Anderson said that during a recent tour, she found the Hicks House in relatively good condition — “It was fine inside,” she said. “Floors were fine, there was one loose step on the stairway going up but the walls were fine it just has to have a little bit of cosmetic work.”

But Lannan said the home is in disarray and was neglected over the years.

“Nobody took care of the thing, you know,” he said. “It’s a sad commentary.”