Efforts to place the 9-acre Rouse estate at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and North McKinley Road into a local historic district appear to have pushed the property owner to move forward with the ânuclear optionâ â tearing it down before such government action can take place. And, county officials say, there is not much they can do to prevent it. âOur hands are pretty much tied,â County Board Chairman Libby Garvey said Dec. 12, effectively rebuffing a request that the county government take stronger actions to reduce the likelihood that the estateâs circa-1907 main property might be razed. At the boardâs Dec. 12 meeting, Tom Dickinson â who last April made the request that the parcel be designated a local historic district â voiced concerns about the countyâs issuing paperwork necessary for the structures on the site to be demolished, and asked that county leaders âimmediately interveneâ on the matter.