The mayor could get permission on Tuesday to sell a house in Bankers Hill that once served as San Diego’s first AIDS hospice.
The City Council is being asked to authorize Mayor Kevin Faulconer to sell the Truax House and another house next door for no less than $2.47 million. Historical preservationists are afraid if the Truax House is sold, it could be torn down.
Chuck Kaminski of the LGBT historical group Lambda Archives said the city has moved too fast in trying to get rid of the property that he considers a historical gem.
“Why is it being pushed right now? There’s plenty of property on the city’s list. Why this particular one?” Kaminski said.
RELATED: Once An AIDS Hospice, Dilapidated Truax House Faces Uncertain Future
Any buyer would have to complete a review of the house’s historical significance — though that doesn’t mean the house can’t be demolished in the future. Faulconer's office said he was working with Councilman Todd Gloria's office to find a way to donate proceeds from the sale to the creation of an AIDS memorial.
The three-story Truax House was built in 1912 on West Laurel Street near Union Street. The city bought it in the 1960s with plans to build a road through Maple Canyon. It’s currently vacant. The other house next door that the city also is considering selling is occupied.
The Truax House was named after Dr. Brad Truax, a local gay physician and early AIDS activist. He died of complications from AIDS shortly after the house was named.
Gloria has also proposed naming a park in Bankers Hill after Truax, and choosing that park as the site for the AIDS memorial.
