The one-story Queen-Anne cottage located at 223 E. Lenoir Street was constructed by Michel Bowes around 1895 and is a contributing structure in the East Raleigh – South Park National Register Historic District. The development of this community was influenced by Shaw University Along with the businesses, churches, governmental services, and industry connected to downtown.
The area was home to a growing professional class of African Americans – such as Dr. Peter Williams, a prominent African American physician – who owned businesses, pastored churches, and served as educational and civic leaders in the community. In 1906, Dr. Williams purchased the house which served as both his home and his doctor’s office for much of the first half of the twentieth century. The house features a steeply pitched pyramidal roof and a unique turreted front porch with a decorative frieze and stained-glass lunette window in one of the gables, setting it apart from many of the other houses constructed in this neighborhood.
The house was purchased by Amit Maholtra in 2020 with the desire to see the unique and uniquely historic building rehabilitated while accommodating multiple tenants in response to the ever-increasing need for housing in downtown Raleigh. Sharing a dedication to history and a deep respect for the work of the home’s original builders, the project team selected by Mr. Maholtra – John Shimer and Frederic Petit of Time Construction – were extremely meticulous when it came to the details of the project successfully revitalizing this architectural gem and fulfilling its new intent-of-use as a multi-unit property. They constructed a rear addition to the house that echoes many of the architectural features of the original while capturing previously unused attic space, thus converting the house into a stunning one-over-one duplex. Original details preserved and rehabilitated throughout the house include windows, door hardware, heart pine floors, fireplace mantels with tile, and trim. Abandoned and dusty architectural elements found in the attic were reused in the reclaimed attic space and elsewhere throughout the addition. The chimney was reinstated, and the addition seamlessly – but distinctively – blended the new with the old.
At a time when so many historic buildings are threatened due to increased development pressure for denser and taller housing throughout our Capital City, this project serves as a shining example of an especially creative solution to providing housing for multiple families while, at the same time, preserving significant character-defining architectural elements and local charm as exemplified by this important property, located in the heart of downtown Raleigh.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2023 Anthemion Award to Maholtra Holdings, LLC; Time Construction, LLC for the Residential Rehabilitation & Adaptive Reuse of the Dr. Peter Williams House, 223 East Lenoir Street, Raleigh.