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DEL.ICIO.USCommunity urges Tech to save building
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Make no mistake. Community leaders do not want the Georgia Tech Foundation to demolish the historic Crum & Forster building at 771 Spring St.
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At the Development Review Committee meeting Thursday evening in Midtown, every single person who spoke voiced opposition to the foundation’s plan to tear down the 1926 building and replace it with a vacant lot.
“This is a first-rate building,” said Mark McDonald, the new president of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. “It is important to the history of Atlanta, and it’s important to the history of Georgia Tech. Every solution for the historic preservation of this building should be sought.”
In all, 22 people spoke out against the Georgia Tech Foundation’s plans to seek a demolition permit for the building. Some were Georgia Tech students. Some were Georgia Tech alums. Others were Georgia Tech faculty members. And most were concerned Atlanta leaders who saw this fight as a crossroads for the city’s future.
A Georgia Tech alum said he was not proud of the way his alma-mater was responding to community concerns. “There’s a way to save this building,” he said.”There are few moments in the life of cities that determine their future.” He went on to compare this fight to the effort to save the Fox more than three decades ago.
Other alums said they would no longer give money to support the foundation until it dropped its plans to demolish the Crum & Forster building.
Myles Smith, a community leader who is retired from Georgia Power, took it a step further. He called the three foundation representatives at the meeting “hired guns.” He urged the community to put pressure on members of the Georgia Tech Foundation board, many of whom are well-recognized civic leaders.
“We need to tell those board members that they’re doing the wrong thing,” Smith said. “We need to find those people and start pestering them.”
Penelope Cheroff, an Ansley Park resident who chairs the Neighborhood Planning Unit - E, agreed.
“We can not stop this as much as we’d like to,” Cheroff said. “The foundation has decided to destroy this building.” She then urged people to find out who is on the foundation’s board and urge the trustees to save the building.
The foundation’s web site is www.gtf.gatech.edu, and there’s a link to its board of trustees.
About 1,700 people already have signed an online petition urging the foundation to save the building.
Although Georgia Tech is steadfast in its desire to get a permit to tear down the classically-designed structure, foundation representative Carl Westmoreland said the foundation is “committed to looking at different alternatives for the building.”
The last person who spoke at the Development Review Committee meeting was Ellen Dunham Jones, director of Georgia Tech’s architecture program.
“I certainly would like to offer our help,” she said, explaining that the foundation has been supportive of the architecture program’s in the past. “We would like to help the foundation back by helping find out what alternatives there really are.”
At that point, the members of the Development Review Committee took a vote to oppose the Georgia Tech Foundation’s application for a demolition permit. The vote was unanimous with one exception — a Georgia Tech employee who abstained because he felt it would be a conflict of interest for him to vote.
Now that recommendation will go the city of Atlanta’s Bureau of Planning, which would either approve or deny Georgia Tech’s demolition permit.
Comments
By Aaron Fowler
June 27, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Everyone should contact Mayor Franklin and voice your objections to her. mayorfranklin@atlantaga.gov
By AverageGuy
June 27, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this
I’m a GT alum and don’t remember this building having an significance. I don’t have an opinion either way, but would state that the article provides no real reason to keep the building. It appears that the way to best approach this is to find out what the organization has in mind to replace the building with (i.e. why are they demolishing it) and then provide an alternative proposal that meets the same requirements/needs while keeping the building intact. Unfortunately what I read in this article is a bunch of complainers with no suggested alternatives.
By Krc
June 27, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this
Please tell me more about the building. What are its past uses, size, what is wrong with it that Tech feel they no longer have use for it? A lot more details are needed to either support or not support the demolition.
By adam
June 27, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
Krc,
771 Spring was built in 1928 and is a great example of the 1920s Italian Renaissance style.
Some buildings are just “old” and I have no problem with them being torn down. This building is historic and should be saved.
By sjwright
June 27, 2008 12:10 PM | Link to this
please, some variety amidst the boxes around 5th St. please some class in the bldgs — it is too nice to lose.
By Jim
June 27, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
It should be utilized for Concerts and the arts. It is such a unique and beautiful building that shouts importance.
Make it a musical academy for the state or a place for artists etc. It could be a beautiful tourist stop.
By Atlanta Archie
June 27, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this
The current proposal is for the building to be demolished and replaced with grass and a wider sidewalk.
If you would like to know more of the buildings history and the effort to save it look up this website http://save771spring.blogspot.com/
By Dave
June 27, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this
Good to hear of the strong show of support at DRC. I wanted to make it but had another commitment.
BTW, while on the topic of Ga Tech shenanigans that negatively impact the urban environment — did anyone else notice that just last week, with almost no warning, they permanently closed the 3rd St tunnel? This is a block away from the C&F building and is/was by far the most convenient walk/bike route between campus and the MARTA rail system. I used it all the time when I was a student there.
Maybe they figured if they tear down all the destinations of interest in that part of Midtown they won’t need the pedestrian connectivity anymore.
By John
July 1, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
If Tech needs to tear this down to expand their campus in the long run, they should be entitled to do so. Has any one ever heard of any modicum of property rights in this city?!
We need density to improve the evironment and our city, and there’s only one way to get it: tearing down older low density buildings.
By John
July 1, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
If Tech needs to tear this down to expand their campus in the long run, they should be entitled to do so. Has any one ever heard of any modicum of property rights in this city?!
We need density to improve the evironment and our city, and there’s only one way to get it: tearing down older low density buildings.
By Rich
July 10, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this
Since we have so much technology why don’t you see if the front entrance of the building could somehow be spared from demolition…And incorporated in the new design of the new building if not all maybe part of it anyway….Just a thought
Go Jackets
By casey
July 10, 2008 9:06 PM | Link to this
Why am i not surprised? Atlanta has always been in such a hurry to tear down anything old before word gets out. Anyone remember a past Atlanta mayor who wanted Atlanta to be a city of steel and glass? Frigging idiot!
Why not let Tech sell the building in order to re-imburse the state for the Tech employees’ p-card fraud?