George Edwards with the Historic Wilmington Foundation is a vocal advocate for preserving the demolished houses.
But the halt on construction comes too late for advocates of historic preservation.
The commission changed its mind only after it had demolished homes on the lot early last week.
Jamison Fair with the city's planning division was in charge of the rezoning permits for the project, and he says he wished the ABC would have though through their plans a little better.
"From staff perspective we are disappointed that the homes are gone and that better solutions were not explored, it's unfortunate. As owners its their right to demolish those, but I think it's unfortunate and I think they could have sought better avenues, and I think they could have thought through the process a bit better," says Fair.
The commission did not return calls to comment on their decision.
The City of Wilmington and the Historic Foundation were working to register the area as a National Historic District when the city issued demolition permits last month.
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