Two homes that have been on Conti Street for more than a century, will remain in place in the Old Dauphin Way Historic District, the Mobile Architectural Review Board ruled unanimously Wednesday.

“It sets the precedent for the historic city center of Mobile,” Rev. Jim Flowers, who owns the home next to the two houses, said at the meeting. “It sets the precedent that people can be confident in their investment when they invest in historic neighborhoods, their investment will be protected.”

The board was considering a plan proposed by the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA) to move the homes, located at 918 and 920 Conti, to the corner of Hickory Street and Chinquapin Street, the site where the Mardi Gras group was founded in 1938. The hope, they said, was that the home would serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the rest of the Lower-Martin Luther King Avenue neighborhood, sometimes called “The Bottom.”

“We’re not from out of town, we’re not investors taking advantage,” Maynard Odom, a member of MAMGA who spoke at the meeting, said. “We’re as committed to the community as we’ve always been, because we’re part of the community.”

But residents of Mobile’s historic neighborhoods showed up in opposition. About 100 came to the meeting wearing red — in what resident Katie Herndon called an expression of solidarity — to argue that removing the homes would damage the character of the historic district. The homes, which were built between 1901 and 1903, contribute to the integrity of the neighborhood, they said.