CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The new owners of the Dunlop Mansion have filed a lawsuit against the City of Clarksville for the right to demolish the building downtown on Madison Street, a proposal which has angered several local historic preservation advocates.

The lawsuit by Gracey General Partnership was filed in Nashville on Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The complaint lists the City of Clarksville as the defendant, as well as Mayor Joe Pitts, Building and Codes Interim Director David Smith and Building and Codes Director Deidre Ward.

Demolition previously denied

The lawsuit comes months after the Clarksville-Montgomery County Historic Zoning Commission and Common Design Review Board unanimously voted July 24 against allowing demolition of the home.

The applicant at the time, George Terrell, had requested permission to demolish the house at 517 Madison St. on behalf of the agent, Jennfier Willoughby. Willoughby planned to build a multi-use development, including apartments, according to previous reports.

After the request was turned down, on Aug. 29 Gracey General Partnership, which Willoughby serves as the managing partner for, went ahead and bought the Dunlop Mansion and property from Terrell for $1.5 million, according to Montgomery County property records.

Property not in historic district

Once Gracey General Partnership purchased the property, despite that demolition was denied by the Zoning Commission a month earlier, they applied for a demolition permit from City Building and Codes.

Gracey didn’t receive the permit, which led to the lawsuit against the city and other defendants. The lawsuit says the City has been “purposely delaying the issuant of permits, subjected to the reviews to heightened scrutiny and the defendants have conspired with others to prevent Gracey from securing the necessary permits.”

The lawsuit argues Dunlop Mansion is not within a historic preservation district, and that the Downtown Urban Design Overlay District does not apply to single-family homes.

Gracey says it has a “protected right and distinct investment-backed expectations based of the Clarksville Zoning Ordinance, which exempts single-family residences from those regulations of the Downtown Urban Design Overlay District and includes approval of the demolition of single-family residence buildings.”

The lawsuit also argues that they deserve immediate issuance of the demolition permit without any further application, review or consideration from the Common Design Review Board.

Gracey, which is based out of Nashville, seeks declaratory relief, compensatory and punitive damages as well as its attorney’s fees paid for by the City.

The City of Clarksville told Clarksville Now it does not comment on pending legal matters.

Clarksville Now has reached out to Willoughby for additional comment.