Work halted on Sunbonnet House Work halted on Sunbonnet House (March 16, 2005)

Dispute with contractor leaves noted home covered in tarp

by Jocelyn Dong

An apparent dispute between homeowners and a construction firm has halted restoration of one of the city's most architecturally distinguished homes, the Sunbonnet House in the Professorville neighborhood.

Covered in brown, white, blue and green tarps, the 106-year-old Bernard Maybeck-designed house on Bryant Street hasn't been touched since January.

"We're devastated by it. It's a complete nightmare," said Michael Flexer, who bought the home in April 2003 with his wife, Caroline Hu Flexer, for reportedly $2.2 million.

The dispute, which Flexer would not identify for legal reasons, led to the termination of their contract with Bridger Construction. Flexer said settlement talks are in the process. The couple is interviewing new contractors and hopes to get work started again in a few weeks.

Maybeck, who is famous for designing the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco as well, built the cedar-shingled home in 1899 for resident Emma Kellogg. It is one of his earliest works and is called the Sunbonnet due to a cantilevered porch roof, which resembles a hat.

The city's historic preservation planner, Dennis Backlund, said in a Weekly interview last year that the Sunbonnet is "the most important historic residence in the city, because it is not just a very well-done example of a late 19th-century house -- it's one of those buildings that is breaking with the Victorian style."

The five-bedroom residence is being restored by the Flexers to its original design, with the addition of a basement.

Flexer estimated that completion of the home would take more than a year. The couple had originally hoped to move in by this Christmas.

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