05-20-2015, 01:09 PM
(05-20-2015, 12:24 PM)TMKM94 Wrote: I feel like I'm being treated like an idiot for thinking this building was beautiful (obviously not the main floor facade) and had huge potential and could have at least been partially saved so I will just keep my opinion to myself from now on, sorry for sharing my opinion.
I feel I should point out that that ugly main floor facade was in fact load bearing, so there was little that could be done about it. Original plans had called for replacing the brick with windows, but not possible if they're load bearing. It's those walls that were bowed out by half a foot after the watermain break. Three independent structural engineers, some hired by the city some by the developer, inspected the building and they were unanimous that collapse was imminent.
I don't think people are saying you're an idiot for thinking the building was beautiful. I was personally quite excited by the plans I'd seen for renovating that building, and looking forward to having dinner on the proposed rooftop restaurant. The point was just that three independent structural engineers is a lot of expertise, and their conclusion was unanimous. The only people to have publicly disagreed are not engineers, nor have they had the ability to inspect the building.
The developer was someone who specialized in restoring old buildings, and has done an excellent job in their past work downtown. They had likely invested over a million dollars into the renovation work already completed, and all the architectural work for the planned expansion. Now they're back at square one, with all that money wasted, plus the cost of demolition.
I'm just not seeing how that all adds up to an underhanded demolition. I don't think any of the parties involved wanted this.