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- Preservation NC secured buyer for Chapel Hill's last Lustron home before deadline.
- New owners must restore and maintain the prefab steel house under deed covenants.
- Built in 1949, the home remains livable and retains rare original metal features.
Chapel Hill’s only intact Lustron home has been saved from demolition.
After the deceased owner’s heirs agreed to a $5,000-price cut, the post-World War II relic at 109 Stephens St. found a buyer for $392,000 — just days before the Aug. 31 deadline, after which it was slated to be torn down.
Part of a short-lived housing revolution, the 1,044-square-foot home is known as the Lonas and Elizabeth Williams house and one of 2,500 built. Only a handful remain in the Triangle.
Preservation North Carolina worked with the sellers to close the deal this week.
“This was a whirlwind project,” said Cathleen Turner, regional director at Preservation NC., told The News & Observer. “We got the option in June and closed in September in time for the family to settle their estate commitments. We commend the family for taking a chance with us.”
The house sits just outside Chapel Hill’s downtown, tucked away on a terraced 0.2-acre wooded lot. Julie Bond-Meers bought it in 1994 and lived there until her death last October. She was a “historical preservationist,” and wanted it to remain intact, Turner said.
The home is now protected by the nonprofit’s protective covenants, written into the deed, which prohibits demolition.
The new owners, Teva Stone and Dan Simpkins, are obligated to rehabilitate and maintain the property. “They’ve been working on [it] since the day we closed,” Turner said.
A storied past
Built between 1948 and 1950, Lustron homes are prefabricated, enameled steel abodes, developed to address the postwar housing shortage, but they never gained traction.
Manufactured by the Lustron Corp. out of Columbus, Ohio, and shipped in 3,300 parts, they were assembled on site, like a Lego set. They weighed 13 tons and came in four colors.
In 1949, a year before production ceased, Lonas and Elizabeth Williams ordered the most common model, the “Westchester Deluxe,” in Dove Gray. It boasted a gabled roof and side porch and arrived on Stephens Street via Taylor-Made Homes in Greensboro.
In May of that same year, it opened to the public as part of a fundraiser for the Chapel Hill Junior Chamber of Commerce, drawing attention for its “sleek, modern” design.
Today, it’s still in “good livable condition” and retains most of its original features: pocket doors, closets and built-in cabinets, including a pass-through metal China cabinet between the kitchen and dining room, and a rare bathroom cabinet.
But it needs some work, including repairs to some rusty spots, inside and out.
The property is eligible for rehabilitation tax credits, according to Preservation North Carolina. It’s also being considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
