On Wednesday, December 10, the neighborhood of Liberty Wells gathered at the Salt Lake Community College South City campus for a regular meeting.  On the agenda however, was one of the most important issues in recent memory which garnered one of the highest turnouts ever for this community council.  The agenda issue before them was whether or not to support the expansion of St. Joseph's Villa. 

On Wednesday, December 10, the Salt Lake City Liberty-Wells Community Council will hold a vote regarding the proposal to expand St. Joseph Villa (seen at right), which requires a change to the Central Community Master Plan and a zoning change.  The Planning Commission has already given its approval to the plan, which includes the demolition of seven historic houses (below left), five of which have been rated as potentially contributing status to a future National Register Historic District.

However, in an important step to discuss the project, the neighborhood is reconsidering its original vote from Spring 2008 as that vote was taken when the item was not listed on a regular meeting agenda.  The December 10^th meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Salt Lake Community College South City Campus (former SLC South HS) at 1575 South State Street in Room W111G.

 

As members of the neighborhood expressed at November's Liberty -Wells Community Council meeting, the expansion not only facilitates the demolition of nearly a half-block of viable single-family historic houses (like the airplane-roof style bungalow seen at left), it also presents several other issues including reducing neighborhood residential use, ongoing design compatibility issues with the surrounding neighborhood, violating the Central Community Master Plan which calls for no further expansion of institutional facilities that displace residential uses , and violating the neighborhood's small area master plan which calls for maintaining the neighborhood's traditional design characteristics.  Utah Heritage Foundation is opposed to the proposal to expand St. Joseph's Villa, and thus the change to the master plan and zoning change, as this will create a negative impact on the neighborhood and we believe that options to expand the facility within the existing footprint of the facility or rehabilitate existing buildings (like the original St. Joseph's Villa building, 1959, seen at right) should be explored more vigorously.

 

After this community council meeting, the Salt Lake City Council will be considering the master plan and zoning change request.  Jill Remington-Love represents this portion of the Liberty-Wells neighborhood on the City Council and welcomes your comments, but all city council members should be informed with your opinions.

 

To send in your comments to the neighborhood, for more information from the No Villa Expansion group, to get updates, and see the design for the new facility, visit www.novillaexpansion.org.

Sometimes historic preservation might seem like a big puzzle.  Maybe that's why I like it.  But that might also be why you might be wondering how all the pieces fit together?  Ogden's current debate about how to resolve rehabilitation issues with the Windsor Hotel served as an excellent opportunity to talk about how we work and our work in Ogden, printed in the Standard Examiner on Sunday, November 16.

http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=U1NFLzIwMDgvMTEvMDkjQXIwMDcwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Unfortunately, in the week before this editorial was published, the developers applied for a demolition permit to "keep all their options open."  This application will come before the Ogden Landmarks Commission in early December for discussion and a vote.

For more on this story, see:

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http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=U1NFLzIwMDgvMTEvMDcjQXIwMDgwNA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

http://wcforum.blogspot.com/search/label/Windsor%20Hotel

The Hoffman Building, a handsome yet simple, two-story commercial building from 1897 and 1924 at 4828 South State Street in Murray is the latest victim to fall prey to the facadectomy compromise in the name of historic preservation.

Utah Heritage Foundation strongly advocated for the preservation of the entire building using a combination of preservation tax credits and local incentives, and given that the developer, Robert Azarvand, bought the historic structure knowing that it was protected by Murray's Downtown Historic Overlay District.  However, after going through a process of the History Review Board, Design Review Board, and Planning Commission, we understand that a compromise was reached with Azarvand so that he would only need to preserve the façade which will be incorporated into a new building that will stretch north to the corner of 4800 South and State Street.

As a general principle of historic preservation, removing the core of building stock that has been found worthy of protection ("façadism") does not constitute an appropriate mean of structural intervention.  This creates a falsehood of history, preservation, and sense of place in a community.  It also creates extremely new challenging of proportion and design that must fit into the particular type of historic pattern and architecture.

The Hoffman Building may be just the first to face this fate as Mayor Snarr has not been shy about sharing his vision for the city's future, which doesn't often include historic buildings.  So it would be a great idea for you to get to know Murray's history sooner than later, and I suggest picking up one of the best walking tour booklet's around Utah - the Murray History Spotter's Guide - to enjoy a walk around historic downtown Murray one afternoon.

If you are interested in more, here is the story from the Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10708498?IADID

Last Tuesday, the debate about how to rehabilitate buildings on Ogden's Historic 25^th Street came to another peak.  After the City Council defeated a proposal to amend the zoning ordinance on September 23^rd, lobbying efforts convinced Councilman Stephens to reconsider his vote enough to request that the amendment be reconsidered by the Council on October 14^th.

[...]

At last night's Ogden City Council meeting, Historic 25th Street came out the victor as the council voted 5-2 to deny a zoning amendment to allow taller buildings and rooftop additions in the downtown historic district.

As one of the great downtown historic districts in the state, 25th Street has been on the revitalization course for many years through a patient and well-managed preservation

On September 18, 2008, the Utah Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees met and discussed as part of its agenda the proposed zoning amendment for Historic 25th Street in Ogden.

With respect to the Windsor Hotel and the zoning amendment, the Board of Trustees passed the following motion:

The design for the Windsor Hotel rooftop addition is not compatible with the 25^th Street Historic District.  It is out of scale and completely incompatible with the physical and historical context of the surrounding buildings and their architecture.  We believe that this addition and others that may follow in the future if this ordinance is passed threaten the National Register status of this important historic district.

Here is a glimpse of the rooftop addition that has been proposed for the Windsor Hotel and the surrounding buildings.

 

Ogden's 25^th Street is the model downtown historic district I am proud to use in my presentations.  But sadly that may not be for much longer.

[...]

From recent press reports and the final Downtown Theatre report to Mayor Becker, it seems that rehabilitating the Utah Theater has fallen out of favor as the primary site for a new Broadway-style theater. It should be clearly known that the Utah Theater is a historic building and that its preservation is possible. It may have lost some of its original charm (architectural integrity) on the exterior in the 1960s, but the interior hallway, two-story lobby, and auditorium ceiling is stunning with original decorative plaster. The auditorium’s ceiling also includes a signature stained glass window.

 

To make the Utah Theater the top selection for Broadway-style performances, it would take a major re-arrangement of downtown property to include underground parking, new backstage loading, and a larger back of house section. A larger back of house likely means demolishing the majority of the historic walls of the original theater, including the original plaster ceiling and skylight.

 

But despite some demolition being necessary, preservation is also possible in the form of reconstruction. In the big picture of preservation, reconstruction is the least preferred method of preservation, but it is a method of preservation. Decorative plaster could be recreated from the current views and historic photos. The stained glass window could be removed and re-inserted in the new ceiling. And despite a potential partial demolition scenario in back, the project could still be eligible for a historic rehabilitation tax credit if the project is planned, constructed, and articulated correctly.

 

A new Utah Theater could be fantastic. It may not be the right choice not to make the Utah Theater the Broadway site. But it is the right site for another performing arts venue that desires a historic aesthetic and great location.  And in the bigger picture of revitalization and preservation, the Utah Theater plays the comeback kid in its defining role for downtown.