SHE WON'T GO!
At 4 and a half hours of testimony, it’s still going.
This is Democracy in action. Good times.
They will come back into session in 10 minutes, I’ll be back to let you know the results and give lots of details on the whole shebang.
At 4 and a half hours of testimony, it’s still going.
This is Democracy in action. Good times.
They will come back into session in 10 minutes, I’ll be back to let you know the results and give lots of details on the whole shebang.
“This is the strangest deal we’ve encountered in the 35 years I’ve been doing this.”
You mean, because people finally realize that all of your projects are disasters that suck all of the life out of downtown and are standing up against another one of your failures? Because the people of Lexington refuse to have their tax dollars subsidize your failure?
Mr. Webb, your CentrePointe project is going down tomorrow.
Ask off work. Call in sick. Take a long lunch. Tell all of your friends.
June 25th at 1:30 PM. LFUCG Council Chamber. The Courthouse Area Design Review Board hearing.
This is our big opportunity to show up and voice our oppostion to the CentrePointe project in its current form.
The Webbs will present their case to demolish the entire block. Let’s make sure that the Council and all city officials know that this aggression will not stand, man.
The last aborted hearing was jam packed in the chamber, with 70 people in the overflow room. Let’s have an even larger crowd for this one. Believe me, it MATTERS. Get there early to make sure you have a good seat.
Here’s Hayward Wilkirson from Preserve Lexington laying it all out for you:
Three months ago, hundreds of citizens came together at the historic Kentucky Theatre because we love Lexington. We came together because we value all of those things that make this small city in the heart of the Bluegrass unique. We came together because we want the rebirth of downtown to continue.
We are reasonable people. We believe in progress. We believe in redevelopment. But we know that redevelopment is not built on the ruins of those things that make Lexington not just anyplace, but our place. We know that progress will not flow from the destruction of our history, architecture and locally grown culture.
Three months ago, looking into the future, we saw two paths. One was the way of compromise. The other was the way of opposition.
We have tried to forge a path of conversation and compromise. We thought, perhaps naívely, that this was a path that all would follow.
It seemed so simple really.
We all want significant redevelopment of a block that is at the heart of our city.
We all know that developments around the country have successfully integrated new construction and historic preservation.
We know that the staff of the Courthouse Area Design Review Board and the architectural historians of the Kentucky Heritage Council have determined that many of the buildings on the block are architecturally significant.
We know that preservation is not just an aesthetic end, but an economic engine that creates jobs, draws investment and lures locals and visitors alike to city centers around the world.
We now know, according to the CentrePointe team’s own engineering study, that the cost to renovate the Mad Hatter, The Dame and Buster’s buildings does not exceed the cost of new construction.
We know that this cost can be reduced a further 30 percent by taking advantage of state and federal tax credits available for adaptive reuse projects.
And we know that a development that relies on $70 million in tax incentives merits genuine public participation.
It seemed so clear that we were confident of reaching meaningful compromise.
Had the city-funded Downtown Development Authority sought community input over the last two years, maybe we would not now find ourselves at this juncture.
Had the developer not unilaterally suspended discussions with us after only two meetings, maybe we would be able to report some progress.
Had The Webb Cos. delivered on its promise of a public meeting, maybe compromise would have been possible.
But all of this is speculation.
The reality is that on Wednesday, the developer will present a project to the Courthouse Area Design Review Board that fails to address the very real concerns expressed by Lexingtonians over these last few months.
We will be there. And we will oppose the developer’s application with the same energy with which we sought compromise.
We have studied the rules and the developer’s application thoroughly, and we believe that the board must, in following the ordinance established by the Urban County Council nearly a decade ago, deny the application.
And then, we hope, we will find in the developer a partner more willing to work together for genuine and meaningful compromise.
I wrote of my final night at Busters last week, and plenty of folks documented its official end on Friday, and The Dame’s end yesterday. Here’s a run down on all the posts about it:
The Herald-Leader, with a very sad audio slideshow.
Culture Soak says goodbye to The Dame.
The one and only Walter Tunis eulogizes The Dame and Busters (what in the hell is Walter going to write about now???)
Patchdrury says goodbye to The Dame.
A really really great eulogy for the Dame by Tunis, giving credit to Cole Skinner, the orignal manager/owner who was more responsible for the success of The Dame than anyone. (and the Super Kung-Fu Motorcycle Monkey, of course)
Eblen gives a good history of the block, and what would be lost if its demolished.
Sinister Laundry on Busters.
It’s a shame that Lexington’s “city fathers” are such incompetent idiots, no?
From today’s paper:
Vice mayor criticizes developers
GRAY SPEAKS ABOUT CENTREPOINTE AT ‘BLOCK AID’ FUND-RAISER
By Beverly Fortune / Lexington Herald-LeaderVice mayor Jim Gray said developers of the proposed CentrePointe project are asking the city to contribute millions of dollars in tax benefits, but have shut out the community in having any say in its size or design.
“We’re asking for some measure of daylight in this process, some level of being included in what amounts to a $70 million tax benefit over 30 years for this development,” Gray told supporters of Preserve Lexington at a fund-raiser Friday night.
The $250 million CentrePointe hotel/condominium project is proposed for a downtown block that contains 14 structures, many of which are historic. Until recently, most of the buildings were occupied by restaurants, music venues and bars.
Developer Dudley Webb said the project must have local and state tax increment financing to be feasible.
I can’t wait ’til they bulldoze that block so we can stop all this whinging about downtown and how much we “care” about it.
Rubble! Let them have rubble.
I’ll see you there!!!
Join us on Friday, June 13 for a rally and fundraiser to support Preserve Lexington’s efforts to achieve a smarter alternative to the CentrePointe development.BlockAid begins at 5:30 pm at The Limestone Club, 213 N. Limestone. Enjoy Barbeque and Brews, and music by The Swells and Between Clark and Hilldale.Take part in a silent auction of vintage Dame concert posters created by the Cricket Press, and a silent auction of the special commemorative BlockAid poster you see above (created by local artist John Lackey).At 9:30 walk on down to Busters for a special concert by The Moxies.Tickets are $20 for the Limestone Club, $5 for Busters, or $25 for both venues.$20 and $25 tickets may be purchased ahead of time at preservelexington.org .In less than a month, the Courthouse Area Design Review Board will review the revised Centre Pointe application.Now, more than ever, we need your moral and financial support.
Why would we want something like this, when we could have a giant tower full of empty luxury condos and a clean hotel lobby with fancy chandeliers. And maybe a big escalator!!! Thanks Dudley, don’t let those “Lexington citizens” get in the way of your big project!
P.S.- Dudley, I hope you continue to be the public face and media representative of your project. You are soooo good at PR, and such a dignified and sympathetic figure. Lexington loves you!
Help Preserve Lexington save downtown Lexington! They’re doing great work, and need some $$$ to keep up with the Webbs shenanigans.
Join us on Friday, June 13 for a rally and fundraiser to support Preserve Lexington’s efforts to achieve a smarter alternative to the CentrePointe development.Block-Aid begins at 5:30 pm at The Limestone Club, 213 N. Limestone. Enjoy Barbeque and Brews, and music by The Swells and Between Clark and Hilldale.Take part in a silent auction of vintage Dame concert posters created by the Cricket Press, and a silent auction of the special commemorative Block-Aid poster you see above (created by local artist John Lackey).At 9:30 walk on down to Busters for a special concert by The Moxies.Tickets are $20 for the Limestone Club, $5 for Busters, or $25 for both venues.$20 and $25 tickets may be purchased ahead of time at preservelexington.org .In less than a month, the Courthouse Area Design Review Board will review the revised Centre Pointe application.Now, more than ever, we need your moral and financial support.
OK, I said light blogging for the rest of the weekend, but my flight’s delayed. Sooo… here’s the latest on the travesty called the CentrePointe development that Eric Thomason has helped stop in its tracks so we can make smart development in downtown Lexington that has the input of, you know, the people of Lexington.
Woodford Webb (where’s Dudley? Maybe they realize his arrogance isn’t good for public relations?) announced that they are going to “tweak” the CentrePointe plans. And by tweaking, I mean an extremely small tweak.
New plans by the Webb Cos. include:
• Putting the hotel lobby and entrance facing West Main Street instead of Vine Street.
• Moving the tower away from the street so the facade along Main Street is similar in height to nearby buildings.
• Attempting to preserve the facade of the Rosenberg jewelry store.
• Possible space for a live-music venue at the Rosenberg entrance.
Gee, color me unimpressed. Nothing invites people to walk in from a downtown Main St. like a luxury hotel lobby. They’ll be able to walk in and stare at the fancy chandeliers and maybe ride up and down the escalators. Fun times!!!
And we’ll preserve the facade of Rosenberg’s? Wow, that’s historic preservation for you. And have you seen the inside of Rosenberg’s? A music venue? What kind of piano bar travesty do they intend to cram into there, exactly?
Vice-Mayor Jim Gray isn’t impressed, either, especially the continuing secrecy and lack of public input.
Vice Mayor Jim Gray said he did not know that CentrePointe’s developers had submitted additional information this week, and that was part of the problem.
“Once again they’ve presented this and unwrapped it without any community input even after there’s been a clear demonstration in this community of how troublesome this proposal is in so many respects — in its scale, in its displacement of the historic fabric, in its displacement of the farmers market, in its displacement of the entertainment and dining establishments,” Gray said.
**********
The saving of the Rosenberg facade is a “token, cosmetic gesture that is totally ineffective in addressing the real issues,” Gray said.
“My worst fear is we level the buildings, we destroy the historic fabric, we throw out the entertainment and the restaurants and we have another empty hole in downtown Lexington like the abandoned World Coal Center project 25 years ago,” Gray said.
And how’s this for a BS quote from Webb:
In a statement, Woodford Webb contends that “significant design modifications” have been made “after having heard from many local groups and individuals who had their own thoughts about how the project should be designed.”
Rrrrrrright….
In other news, Preserve Lexington has something big up their sleeves for us:
BLOCK-AID
An Event To Save Our BlockFriday Evening, June 13
Downtown LexingtonStay Tuned For Details
Sounds great! Can’t wait to hear more about it.
The next big date is June 25th, 2:00, at the Courthouse Area Design Review Board, where the Webb’s will try to get permission to level the whole block. This thing isn’t over, let’s be there and let ‘em know how we feel.
.
Money for big projects is drying up all over the country. It’s not really the best time to build.
I’ve said it before, but I can say it again: The city shouldn’t allow any demolition until the developer can prove that the money for CentrePointe is there, including the taxpayers money which still needs approval from the city and state.
Otherwise, there very well could be just an empty block of rubble when we welcome the world for the 2010 Equestrian Games. Which isn’t exactly the scene we want to show off to all these visitors to prove we are a great and lively city.
Economy, Credit Woes
Foil Cities’ Big Projects
By JENNIFER S. FORSYTH / Wall Street Journal
April 25, 2008; Page A1A proposed $7 billion downtown Seattle project has become the latest major urban development to be scotched or delayed because of the credit crisis and a faltering economy.
Seattle’s Clise family is pulling a 13-acre property for sale for at least $600 million off the market, at least temporarily. The property was intended to be the catalyst for a project that would have totaled the square footage of as many as five Empire State Buildings, putting it on the scale of London’s Canary Wharf or the former World Trade Center in New York.
The Seattle project joins other projects in New York, Phoenix, Atlanta and Las Vegas that have been shelved, scaled back or beset by financial problems in recent months. Many city officials hoped they would provide jobs and economic activity that could help make up for a housing-market downturn that still hasn’t reached bottom.
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