Self Preservation

Not that anyone has actually taken me to task for my last post, but I've been doing a bit more hunting around the deal that the city of Louisville filed with Cobalt ventures for development of Whiskey Row/Iron Quarter. It is abysmal. And Mr. Blue continues to be a defiant prick, as The LEO reports:

However, Blue told LEO Weekly that his company has no intention of saving the facades because it would be “cost-prohibitive.”

From Iron (Quarter) Man:

“Our proposed plan is recreating the architectural images of those facades in exactly the way they are today,” Blue says. “With today’s technology, you can recreate exactly what’s there. We can show you where the paint’s chipping off. It’s done around the country and is celebrated. We’d love to do that.”

Yikes. Re-creation is not preservation in any way. That's simple English. And that is truly tragic. The deal allows for the property to be a parking lot for 5 years. Theoretically the development could take that long, but sheesh, he's owned the buildings the same amount of time. And by using a tone of voice that sounds like a bully being stood up to, questioning his motives behind letting the buildings fall apart is rather appropriate.

This is the kind of thing that causes people to have to use the most far-reaching tools at their disposal, things like landmarking. There is no compromise here. It is a tragedy.