[Durham INC] [oldnorthdurham] Save Liberty Warehouse

[erica zajac]

How can we possibly stop this from happening tonight? I think it is a horrible idea to tear the warehouse down or to remove landmark status... by the way, how are they even allowed to do this? Isn't a landmark named as such for historical purposes? Isn't this somehow illegal? I share your concerns Peter and do NOT want to see a historic landmark removed. How distressful and disrespectful to Downtown Durham and the significance of this warehouse. 

I AM VERY MUCH OPPOSED to this action. IF this happens I will campaign to replace EVERY single council persons seat that chooses to allow this travesty to happen. If decisions about historic landmarks are not a priority, our charming city will soon be taken over by CORPORATE America. There is a reason I do not live in Raleigh and why I do not want any historic site be trashed for monetary reasons. Vote to respect Durham!
 
Erica Zajac Pokrass



________________________________
 From: Peter Katz <peterkatz01 at gmail.com>
To: oldnorthdurham at yahoogroups.com 
Cc: council at durhamnc.gov; rperry at ewp-nc.com; inc listserv <inc-list at durhaminc.org> 
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 3:07 PM
Subject: RE: [oldnorthdurham] Save Liberty Warehouse
 


  
As a reminder, this is on the City Council agenda for tonight:
 
With the majority of Council Members signaling that they will approve removal of the historic landmark status, I’m particularly concerned about what will replace the Liberty Warehouse--in the absence of the design oversight which will have been eliminated.  The developer, East West Partners, accurately perceives the desirability of the location but I’m concerned that they do notfullyunderstand the nature of the area’s appeal.  Early designs look as if they intend to literally cut-and-paste a structure from the Streets at SouthPoint… or another equally antithetical location.
 
Some folks seem to think that anything which replaces the Liberty Warehouse will be an improvement, but I would caution against that notion.  The district is already thriving, despite the current condition of the building, and there are things that could jeopardize its progression.  For example, at the moment we know very little about this developer’s retail strategy.  Consider what 50,000 square feet of franchises would look like here...  should we brace for a Starbucks, Pizza Hut, or perhaps a Cheescake Factory directly across from our Farmer’s Market?  I think a lot of us would at least rest a little easier if we knew this was going to compliment the ethic of the district and support local business.
 
Another concernthatI have is how the 250 rental units fit into the City’s housing objectives.  We do want more residential infill and density, yet mostrecent developments nearby seem geared toward folks interested in high-end condos or lofts.  This will have the effect of pushing more affordable housing out of the city center and toward areas of already concentrated poverty.  It would be nice to see some mixed income housing options throughoutthe city and unless we make this more of a priority it will remain an afterthought.
 
Of course the landmark designation itself only provides a modicum of design oversight and is not intendedfor the purposes I’m describing.  But let’s face it -- if the landmark status is removed it will be a contravention of its actualintended purpose in order to favor unfettered redevelopment of this site.  Given that the justification offered on its merit is arguably disingenuous (even those who originally disagreed with the initial designation of landmark status must find the stated rationale somewhat cynical:  see the staff report for more on this…)  and given that the developer has made the project contingent on removal of the landmark status, why wouldn’t we at least ask for some public outreach and a well-conceived, fully-developed plan first?
 
For more information and discussion have a look at the article on Open Durham: http://www.opendurham.org/news/liberty-warehouse-heading-fall
 
-Peter Katz
 
__._,_.___
Reply via web post  Reply to sender   Reply to group   Start a New Topic  Messages in this topic (2)  
Recent Activity: 	* New Members 2   
Visit Your Group 
***
The opinions expressed herein represent the views of the individual and
do not necessarily represent the views of Old North Durham Neighborhood
Association or any other organization. Any use of the material
on this listserv other than for the purpose of discussion on this
listserv is strictly prohibited without the knowledge and consent of the
person responsible for such opinion.
***
To post a message send email to:  oldnorthdurham at yahoogroups.com
To subscribe send email to:  oldnorthdurham-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe send email to:  oldnorthdurham-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com


 
Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback 
. 

__,_._,___ 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20130520/25c3c4df/attachment.html>