The Potters - er - the Webbs - Win

Is anyone really surprised that the Webbs got their permit to destroy a vital portion of downtown?

MediaCzech sat in on the meeting, which ran into extra innings. Joe broke the news in his usual low-key style:



The Webbs did work very hard to put this deal together. They spent years acquiring properties and permissions. They began designing Centrepointe months before springing it on the public, and they managed to keep it under the radar. Well, under the public radar. Apparently, the Kentucky Heritage Council and the Downtown Development Authority have known about it since at least 2006.

And really, their allies argue, now that Mia's has relocated and Buster's and The Dame are closed, what is there to save? Some run-down historic buildings? No one's using them any more, right? No one, including the Webbs or Rosenbergs, was keeping them to code. Why shouldn't some spiffy new building go up?

How about... because the building's design violates the city guidelines for the courthouse area?
How about... because our Fire Department couldn't reach the top floors of the proposed structure? Safety hazard, anyone?
How about... because a structure spread out into Phoenix Park would impede downtown traffic, already a sore spot with Lexingtonians?

What the board should have said: Yes, you have gone through the legal channels of getting ownerships and permissions. And now that you and your buddies have finished shutting down the block, you can tear it down. But the design you have submitted is unacceptable. Come up with something that fits downtown and its needs. You created many of those needs in your quest to replace anything non-Webb downtown; now it's time to fill the gap with appropriate buildings.

Big Day for Democrats

Yesterday was the County Caucus in Fayette County. This was the meeting where citizens vote for the people who are supposed to vote for the delegates to the Democratic National Convention - where, presumably, they vote for the candidate running for President (your mileage may vary in Florida and Michigan). Then the citizens all get to vote again, and we get a President. At least we hope we get a real one this time.

The caucus for the 88th went smoothly. We separated into Obama supporters vs. Hillary supporters, candidates were nominated and duly elected. Things did not go nearly as well in another group, where one person brought numerous relatives and they all voted for each other, locking out other prospective delegates. I guess large families do still have some advantages in urban society. The family will not be identified here because my own is much smaller and they could beat us up.

Afterwards, there was much talking (and bitching) in the parking lot outside Fayette County Democratic Headquarters. The get-together was extended to a 'Pork and Awe' barbeque for people planning to watch the DNC committee decision on their disobedient brethren. Rather than please the Hillarites by restoring the delegates in full or please the Obamians by denying them, the DNC decided to piss everyone off by giving them half-votes. Solomon would be proud.

Later in the evening, several leading lights of the party went to The Dame to watch Palao, The Scourge of the Sea, and Chico Fellini perform in one of the final concerts the venue will host. My spouse and I were introduced to many activists, all younger than us, and had the pleasure of introducing Jennifer Miller to Dickie Haydon's father. The next morning, I learned that people over 40 don't have to drink alcohol in order to feel hung over from a long night of partying.

Addendum: After the city rubberstamps the Webbs' project, also in violation of regulations (if only the DNC could intervene!), the Webbs plan to seek a music venue for their phallic projection, but The Dame will not be a candidate. Really, it shouldn't be: the Webbs certainly wouldn't want acts that weren't preapproved performing in their building, and new music doesn't fare well under those conditions. Let's hope some other hole in the wall opens soon.

Welcome to Webbville

Tom Eblen reports that the Webbs are a tad peeved about some of the comments on his blog.

Developer Dudley Webb has been irritated by some of the anonymous comments readers have left on my blog about his CentrePointe development. What really set him off were the ones criticizing the previous buildings he and his brother, Donald, have added to Lexington’s skyline.

Especially the ones about 'Festival Market' being a bust, because they're true?

I remember when it went up (showing my age here). Everyone went down to visit it once, then stopped. Traffic was lousy, you had to pay for parking (as opposed to other malls), and the businesses inside were all high-priced and largely not of interest to the people coming to the facility (downtown employees and hotel guests). For years, the city tried to increase traffic to it, just as they tried to increase downtown commerce. The Lexington Financial Center still has empty rooms without sheetrock.

Snark aside, Dudley Webb's response included sharing their vision of downtown with Eblen... circa 1986. He wanted the Herald-Leader blogger to see what their original vision was for downtown. All but "Lake Lexington" have been completed, although the final combination of elements is somewhat different.

The green space they've created around downtown sets it off nicely, but even in 1986 they would have had to tear down a great number of homes and apartment buildings to achieve that much green space. As for Lake Lexington, it would have taken up the Salvation Army and the area now used for Rupp Arena parking. The newest addition, Centrepointe, would "create the most dangerous possible conditions for the hapless pedestrian", according to a retired professor of architecture.

These, plus the Webb's motto of "Developing Tomorrow’s Landmarks" highlight an important point: the structures are important. Not the people using them, or their needs. In this case, the 'landmarks' are all Webb landmarks. They don't seem to want to share, either: the city tried to find ways to encourage businesses to come downtown and inhabit Festival Market, but when another group - the arts community - began having some success, the Webbs did not want the city to offer them similar considerations.

In spite of the guidelines already set up by the city designers for downtown, or proposed alternate plans, or concerns about lack of sewer infrastructure, this block must come down so their hotel can go up. No, another location won't do. No, the blueprints have been 18 months in the works and they can't be changed now to accomodate historical buildings. The Centrepointe project has simply been foisted upon us full-grown, like a Bizarro World version of Athena springing from Zeus' head.

Instead of practical, the idea is impractical. Instead of being useful to people, it is clear that the hotel would be a great inconvenience. Some call it a 'landmark', but I call it... egotism. What else do you call the desire to create downtown in your image?

Wake Up Lexington Event was Packed!

Gwen and I went downtown this morning to attend the Wake Up Lexington event. We arrived to find the theater packed! The demographics were mixed, to say the least: college students, young parents with their children, older people, and in-between (NOT old, damn it!) history buffs like ourselves.

From Barefoot and Progressive:

We filled EVERY seat of the 350 seat theater.

Standing room only in the back.

With a full lobby of people that couldn't get in.

Amazing.

Sadly, we were among the people who couldn't get in to see the presentation. We did sign the big letter in the lobby, though, and enjoyed studying the photographs of buildings and their histories. Some of them may appear in Gwen's second novel.

Kudos also to The Dame folks, who displayed several photographs of their establishment near the exit of the building. I am sorry to hear that the venue may have been sold out from under the people who actually run it.

I do hope that, at some point, we will have the opportunity to see the documentary. The theater and lobby were so crowded that we couldn't get close enough to hear, much less see, much of value. I won't complain too loudly, though, since this was just proof of the event's success!

More heartening news:

Towards the end of the event, a question was asked to Vice-Mayor Jim Gray, who gave a VERY good speech about how we should be able to come to a compromise that improves Lexington by incorporating the rich history and community that we already have here. It was "is this already a done deal?" After some delicate wording, he gave an emphatic "NO", to great applause.

I hope this interest will lead to a good turnout for the Courthouse Area Design Overlay Board Hearing. It will take place at 2 PM on Wednesday in the Urban County Council Chambers. I am afraid I will be working, as will many other sympathizers of the cause.