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From: Anthony West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: November 1, 2007 10:44:14 PM EDT
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Ucneighbors] 1st Thursday update on the 40th St. hotel proposal:
Lussenhop speaks
Developer Tom Lussenhop made a presentation on his proposed extended-stay hotel
at 40th & Pine Sts. at Penn Community Relations' 'First Thursday' meeting today
at the Walnut St. West Free Library. ...Lussenhop's design is an unquestionable
plus for Spruce Hill's architectural heritage.
____________________________________________________ Come on, Tony, you've got
to be kidding! UNQUESTIONABLE??? Are you saying, Tony, that we're not
supposed to ask questions??? That we're supposed to simply accept on the word
of someone who hopes to make a handsome profit at the expense of this
neighborhood's historic character and quality of life, that this project will
benefit anyone other than the developer and his benefactors?
I personally have a lot of questions:
How would this project 'save' that building? It would only be 'saved' in the
sense that it would remain standing, some of the original exterior
characteristics would be rebuilt, and it would be put back in use. What would
not be restored would be the fact that the building sat in the center of a
large yard, set back from the sidewalks of 40th Street and of Pine Street.
But most importantly, the original mansion would have a ten-story building
built in what had been that yard. THAT is certainly historically inaccurate.
Furthermore, any historic character that is restored to the mansion would be
totally marginalized by a modern ten story building looming over it. As an
example, look at the remaining buildings on the north side of the 3900 block of
Walnut Street, and how tiny they look against the backdrop of the new dorm
being built there. I think it's interesting that the people who want to
support this project conveniently ignore the HEIGHT of this building, and the
impact that would have on entire the area surrounding that property. 'Saving'
the archetectural heritage of that one building would come at the cost of
destroying the scale and character of the rest of the blocks of 4000 Pine
Street, 4000 Baltimore Avenue, the 400 blocks of South 40th and 41st Streets,
and every other block within sight of that ten-story tower. I'm going to
break the 'unquestionable' rule set for this thread, and ask the supporters of
this project these questions: -How do you defend erecting a modern ten
story building in an area comprised of 1850's Italianate three story homes?
-How is supporting this project consistent with the drive a few years back to
have this area designated as an historic district? -Does the current lack
of an historic designation that would compel new buildings or building
renovations to conform to certain standards become a reason to ignore those
same standards? Or to cite the lack of that designation as a reason for
support? -Shouldn't those who profess to support historic designation
demand that developers voluntarily comply with those standards before throwing
their support behind those developers' projects? Karen Allen
