111-Year-Old Farmhouse Coming Down on Rochester Road

A piece of the past is being demolished this week in Rochester Hills.

What has been longtime known as the Eddy House, a two-story white house on the east side of Rochester Road between Hamlin and Avon roads, is being torn down in shifts that started last week; only the main part of the home surrounding the chimney was left standing Tuesday afternoon.

According to a report by the Rochester Hills Historic Districts Study Committee, the house was a Queen Anne-style farmhouse built in 1900. It was described as a two-story, cross-gabled neoclassical-style.

The home was remodeled around 1936, redesigned by architect John Burns, who also designed the Belle Isle Bridge as well as structures in New York and as far away as Belgium. The Eddy family purchased the home in the 1930s. Wayne Eddy was an engineer for the automobile industry.

It received its listing as a historical home in 1978. In 1986, it was sold for development, and since that time, several of the outbuildings on the property have been demolished because of neglect.

In 2010, the property owner asked for the historic designation to be removed. The city's Historic Districts Study Committee presented a lengthy report that recommended the home's historical designation not be removed, citing its value to local history. Rochester Hills City Council denied the committee's request and approved the removal of the home's historic designation, citing the rights of the current property owner as well as its historical insignificances.

Today, the property is zoned for a mixed-use development — a combination of retail, residential and restaurants.

It is located at the entrance to the Eddington subdivision.

According to the 2010 report, 84 of the city's 29,739 structures have historical value.