Sarah Finnegan
Pink House
The Pink House, located on Edgewood Boulevard, is currently owned by Clayton and Rachel Mobley, who plan to renovate it and turn into a home for their family.
After reducing the size of both their requested height and pool variances, the owners of the historic Pink House in Edgewood had their requests approved by the Homewood Board of Zoning Adjustments on Sept. 2.
The owners, Clayton and Rachel Mobley, expressed their gratitude for the decision, which will allow them to start their work in preserving the home and making it a place to raise their family.
“We would like to sincerely thank the citizens of Homewood who supported us and the BZA for their favorable decision tonight,” the Mobleys said in a statement. “We are so grateful to live in such a wonderful community that cares about historic structures and listens to the will of the people. We look forward to restoring the Pink House and its gardens. We are eager to start working to preserve the extraordinary history of this property that is beloved by our family and this community.”
The Mobleys chose to split their variances up in order to not have both dismissed by a failed vote of one. The pool variance was approved unanimously, while the height variance was approved 4-1, with Megan Hand the lone “nay” vote. Earlier in the meeting, Hand encouraged the Mobleys to split the variances.
Attorney Bob Fowlkes, representing the Mobleys, reminded the BZA that the height variance of 44.5 feet, reduced from 46 feet, was necessary due to the sloped layout of the home. The pool is located in the front of the property, Fowlkes said, due to the couple’s desire to save both the moss garden and rock wall in the back of the property, which, unlike its neighbors, sits 91 feet from the road.
Multiple residents spoke in favor of the variances, and urged the BZA to reverse their previous decision, which resulted in the Mobleys filing a lawsuit against the city. While they emphasized that they harbored no ill will toward the BZA or the city, they felt that was what was needed to have the variances approved, until the board changed their minds at the Sept. 2 meeting.
Clayton Mobley apologized to the board for less-than-friendly comments made by members of the public to the BZA following their initial decision.
“Rachel and I, we love this city, we really do,” he said. “We want to be here, and we want to help preserve something.”
The house, which was built in the 1920s, is currently unlivable. Some parts of the ceiling are leaking or at risk of falling in. It’s in pretty bad condition, Clayton previously said, but it can be restored. But in addition to preserving the historic aesthetic of the property, the Mobleys also said they want to create a desirable home with more space, function and modern comforts, such as central heating and air.
The house was built in the 1920s by Georges and Eleanor Bridges and was known for its pink stucco exterior and its “secret garden.” In 2018, a developer who owned the property presented plans to the Homewood Planning Commission to tear down the house and subdivide the property into six lots. An effort arose in the community to save the Homewood Pink House. After more than a year of the community raising money and spreading awareness about the property, the house was sold to a private buyer, Holley Ellis, and her family in the fall of 2019, who then sold it to the Mobleys.
