Downcity To Get Another Pointless Parking Lot?
3:00PM ON
11/09/2009
BY
Matthew Lawrence
[I meant to post about this earlier, but I've been out of town. Sorry for the extremely short notice...]
Today at 4:45 the DowncityDesign Review Committee will be hearing a request to demolish the old bank facade at 35 Weybosset Street (next to the arcade, in the Architectual Ruins District.)
If you recall, back before the bubble burst the OneTen was supposed to be luxury condos and the tallest building in the state. When the market/insanity collapsed, the idea was scaled back, and then it was rumored that luxury hotel chain W was going to put a hotel there instead. (I liked this idea, since W lobbies are always well-stocked with shiny green apples. Stealing is okay sometimes, as long as it’s from a hotel and fruit is involved.)
But now the facade might come down. With no plans to put anything there instead, it looks like another plan to ruin the architectural fabric of Downcity in the hopes of, what, putting another parking lot in until the market picks up?
The meeting’s on the 4th Floor of 400 Westminster Street and starts at 4:45. I’ll be posting if anything exciting happens.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:05PM
Rick S. Says:
I’m with you Matt, but what would you suggest to go there?
Downcity already has nice hotels, nice residential, Starbuckses (Starbuckuses?), and no shortage of available retail & office space.
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November 9th, 2009 at 8:03PM
Jef Nickerson Says:
DRC sent Applicant away with instructions to come up with a plan to save the facade and re-open the sidewalk. DRC was NOT having any of it from the developer.
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wess replied:
November 9th, 2009 at 11:38PM
I applaud DRC for not issuing a demo on demand, as seems to have been the pattern in recent years. We need to hold developers to something better than “I’ve got an idea and a guy’s phone number,” when it comes to deciding the fate of any of our buildings. (Anyone been to New Japan lately?)
If you want to see what happens when you let developers call the shots, take a drive through Old Hartford sometime. Oh wait, you can’t. It’s all been knocked down and replaced with ugly new buildings no one wants. Some of those have been knocked down by now, too.
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