What's the DFD 6?

In the three City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Certificate of Appropriateness hearings, Historic Preservation Commission meeting, and City Council "quasi-judicial" hearing on December 14, 2005, the local architect for the Sun Mercantile Building project (first "flexible use space," then condominiums) kept referring to other projects around the country that were examples of sensitive adaptive reuse. Yes, they are "projects." But that's about it. Like most things in life, there's a story behind the story. Those stories are told below.

The current proposal for the Sun Mercantile Building does not comply with the City of Phoenix’s historic design guidelines or the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's rehabilitation standards. If the current proposal goes through, the property will undoubtedly be delisted from the National Register of Historic Places. It should also be delisted from the Phoenix Historic Property Register because of the terrible precedent set, “lowering the bar” and allowing substantially altered and demolished buildings to be added to the Phoenix Historic Property Register in the future.

San Diego Gas & Electric (Electra Condominium)

The San Diego historic preservation organization, SOHO, placed the SDG&E Building on their 2004 Most Endangered Properties List and called the developer's condo project, "little better than demolition."

St. Regis Museum Tower Hotel and Condominium Project, San Francisco

An historic corner office building (the 1907 Williams Building) is saved with new construction WRAPPED AROUND its back and new street front space devoted to the Museum for the African Diaspora. Note that DFD CornoyerHedrick, in their testimony before the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission, always referred to the project as the "St. Regis Condominium.” They didn't mention a museum as a part of the full project…hmmm, wonder why?

Edgar Allen Poe residence, New York City

The preservation of Edgar Allen Poe's residence in New York was litigated for several years, and when New York University finally relented and said they would restore the building, they completely razed the old and built a whole new structure because "there simply weren't enough bricks left." University officials called it an "homage;" preservationists called it "phony... tacky... a joke... an insult... absurd... frightfully bad..."

Ballet Valet Collins Ave. Mixed Use Project, Miami

Warning! Warning! What you will now view is not for the faint of heart. Are you ready? Click here and then click on the "Ballet Valet" graphic at the top of the page. What is "preserved" is merely TWO corners of facades. Also note that the Miami-based architecture firm that did this project -- Arquitectonica -- is the same firm that was commissioned to design Phoenix's new city-owned Sheraton. It was criticized in a June 2005 Arizona Republic op-ed piece by...guess who?...the president/CEO of DFD CornoyerHedrick.

Auto Hotel (Shaw Center for the Arts), Baton Rouge

The Foundation for Historical Louisiana executive director noted that this project was a tough one. For many years, FHL encouraged the preservation of the old Auto Hotel with its interesting interior and spiral staircase where cars would go up and down. Unfortunately, over the years, the neighborhood and building fell into disrepair. To begin to revitalize the area, several local institutions sponsored a charette that came up with idea for an arts museum complex. Noble idea of course, but the design that was picked was not sensitive to the historic structure. Some preservationists felt it was the only way the building could be saved, but apparently not much of the historic structure was kept (not even the spiral staircase). Added insult: the facade facing the old State Capitol is just so stark (sheer black wall with a big metal door) that it's an affront to the old Capitol.

712 5th Avenue, New York City

Uhh, the new construction WRAPS AROUND the historic church, not on top of it!