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Thursday, July 10, 2008
Midtown church told to save historic buildings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For more than five years, Elston Collins has been a member of the St. Mark United Methodist Church at the corner of Fifth and Peachtree streets.
That is, until now.
Collins resigned from the congregation in protest of the church’s desire to demolish three historic buildings along Juniper Street and to replace them with a surface parking lot.
“It’s really disappointing for me on lots of fronts,” said Collins, who also serves as president of the Midtown Neighbors Association. “Neighbors couldn’t believe my church was doing this.”
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Originally, it appeared as though the church was willing to work with the community and historic preservation leaders to explore solutions that would keep the buildings yet provide parking and future development opportunities. In May, St. Mark agreed to defer its demolition permit request for at least 30 days to explore those solutions.
“We pulled in so many resources from the community,” Collins said. “We had experts who presented them alternatives with potential funding streams. What really sent me over the edge was that while we were trying to find solutions, the church decided to go ahead with demolition. I was just appalled that the church could be so two-faced.”
Collins is not alone with his frustration.
At a meeting of the Development Review Committee Thursday evening, not one member of the public spoke in favor of the church’s plans.
The committee then voted unanimously to oppose the demolition permit and against any variances that would permit the church to develop a parking lot. The committee’s vote reaffirmed similar votes taken by the Midtown Neighbors Association and the Neighborhood Planning Unit - E.
St. Mark member Bill Sanders, who spoke on behalf the church, said preservationists “made some excellent suggestions, but it involves land we don’t own and money we don’t have.” Later he described the alternative solutions as “half-baked.”
In addition, Sanders said the church wanted to consolidate its land holdings on its block so it eventually could develop the site into a 20-story building. But he said that could five, 10 or 50 years out.
After committee members voted in a closed door session, Clifford Altekruse summed up the group’s position that the church did not seriously explore alternatives.
“It’s our sense that the church is turning down that opportunity so it can demolish the buildings,” Altekruse said. “That strikes us as wrong because it’s hurtful to the neighborhood and it’s unnecessary because financing was available. The committee is srongly opposed to granting any of the variances.”
Currently the three buildings, built around 1905 as residences, have no historic designation. Committee members acknowledged there might not be a legal standing to prevent their demolition.
But they also read from land-use and zoning regulations that the church’s proposal to build a surface parking lot on that site is not permitted.
NPU-E Chair Penelope Cheroff, who sits on the committee, explained that having driveways and parking lots fronting major streets only take away from Midtown’s growing pedestrian environment. “It flies in the face of all we’re trying to do in Midtown,” she said.
The committee’s recommendation and the demolition requests are now headed to City Hall. If the city denies the permits, the church then could appeal the decision in the courts.
In the meantime, Elston Collins will be looking to join another congregation.
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Turner marks 70th birthday with autobiography
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November will be a big month for Ted Turner.
First, his autobiography, “Call Me Ted,” is coming out Nov. 10. Nine days later, he will turn 70.
It was an older, wiser Turner who spoke to the Atlanta Rotary Club on Monday. In his unique, humorous way, Turner shared his philosophies and perspectives with Rotarians about the world, politics, business, international relations, the environment and the aging process.
For starters, Turner gave a great deal of credit to Rotary International for his international views and for his philanthropy. “I love Rotary,” he said. “My dad was a Rotarian. I’m a Rotarian born and bred. When I die, I’ll be Rotary dead.”
He said Rotary provided “the genesis of my strong international beliefs” and that the international organization believes in “a world of friends” with clubs all over the globe.
“If you want to go out and look for enemies, you can find them anywhere, like this administration has done. Drop bombs, and you make enemies,” Turner said, adding that he supports dialogue with controversial world leaders. “How are you going to make friends with someone if you don’t talk to them?”
One of Turner’s charitable causes is the Nuclear Threat Institute, which has been working to reduce weapons of mass destruction worldwide. As Turner said: “The next world war will be the last world war.”
Another one of Turner’s causes is the environment. And he has become a strong proponent of alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind and biofuels.
“I think we have to move away from fossil fuels,” Turner said. “Or we are going to be living in a hell of our own making; it’s going to be so hot.”
Turner also opposes the fence going up along the U.S. border with Mexico —- calling it the “Great Wall of Texas.”
“I remember when this country was in favor of tearing walls down,” Turner said, referencing when President Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall and said: “Tear down this wall.”
Closer to home, Turner described his practice of taking walks around his downtown residence and filling bags up with litter.
“I pick up trash when I take a walk,” Turner said. “If we picked up more trash than we threw down, we would live in a clean world.”
As a conservationist, Turner owns more acres of land than any other individual in the United States.
“I wanted to have some land without a mortgage on it,” Turner said. “I think when you are 60, you should be out of debt. I have no debt. But then again, I’m almost 70.”
The lunch format was a change for Rotary. The dais was gone, and Turner sat on a sofa chair while he was interviewed by Rotarian Bob Hope (a former employee). Hope asked Turner: “What’s next?”
“Stay alive,” Turner said while recommending a recent book he has read: “Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond.”
“We have to take care of ourselves. If you’re not here, you can’t make a difference.”
And about his charities, Turner said: “The rich should help the poor. That’s what philanthropy is all about.”
As for the book, Turner said his publishers are real happy with it, but he did say that he left some stuff out because he wanted to keep it private for his family’s sake.
Turner also told the Rotarians: “I thought it was great when you let women in.”
To that, Hope said: “You’ve always liked women.”
“I do,” Turner said.
Then Hope said: “You once told me, ‘Pretty women make you feel like you can live forever.’ “
At the end, Hope asked Turner to sing “My Old Kentucky Home.”
Turner stood and proudly sang every verse. Although many of the club’s members are likely far more conservative than Turner, they were so impressed that they gave him a standing ovation.
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