In regards to Circles. I get it. A lot of the people in their 60's and over probably have a lot of memories of the Stewarts Motor Co. But truthfully, the building is a very bland example of 40's postwar architecture and already has had extensive surgury done anyway. This is NOT the same building anymore. If you look at Circles closely, a lot of the facade is a mish-mash of original brick and a couple generations of newer brick patchwork over the many years. I walked by it several times per week. You can tell how much was repaired, remodeled, added on and not original. The glass and glass framing is not original and I'm sure the interior walls are probably a mess too.
Someone asked what the compromise was. I believe the compromise is they are not tearing the whole building down which is what everyone went up in flames about because of the full site demo that was pulled. There wasn't much flack from the Roosevelt community before that demo permit was pulled. The developer assured everyone that was not the case, even added on another 20 ' of building facade to be saved after the April 14th meeting. Also, the spinning sign is to be functional again. These were not in the original scope of work before April 14th and added these to offset criticism. This was still not enough for Roosevelt Action Committee.
Circles is not under preservation status and it can legally be taken down any time they choose too. Even so, they are STILL planning to keep the South most important section. Doing so from a design standpoint will cost them more money to build over and around Circles than just tearing it down and starting from a flat lot.
I'm from Cinicinnati....where there is much more history than Phoenix (sorry guys!) So, to me an old car dealership is not as important as a 15 story Art Deco hotel built in the 1920's that housed presidents of the United States or famous actors or was the first concrete framed building or whatever. Maybe, that's just me or just because I grew up with a lot of old buildings around me. I myself would like to see the South half of the building still saved because I know there is a little coolness there and obviously memories for some people. But I have seen far better history bite the dust with much less of a fight than this. Maybe this is just the Phoenix mentality. After all, I've read of highrise developments being fought because "it blocks the views of mountains".
This is just my 2 cents on this. But it's sad that so many people want a 1 story building chosen with a VERY limited history and no redevelopment potential over a 300 unit development that will add people, jobs, nightlife and bring much more money to the Roosevelt District which in turn will spur more development and success for Roosevelt. What is the problem with that? This city needs to get it's Downtown in gear to compete with the suburbs and be a successful core. Circles would have sat another 10 years with NOTHING preserved or developed keeping the block dead and the building would no longer be salvageable due to water damage, sun damage and vandalism. The preservationists would have sat on it and still done nothing and you all know this. As mentioned previously by another forumer, where was the movement to save the building before this development was proposed?
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