While the movement to preserve historic buildings has widespread support, it also has some sharp critics with well-funded opposition groups springing up in recent years.
Some opponents are linked to the Stand Together Foundation, founded and bankrolled by the Koch family’s conservative philanthropic organization, according to a column in Governing magazine. Many critics see historic preservation as a threat to “precious individual freedoms.”
A Stand Together senior fellow cited some preservation actions to bolster his case: An effort in San Francisco to convert a laundromat into an eight-story apartment building was stalled for eight years while city officials try to determine if the laundromat should be protected. In Denver, preservationists delayed the conversion of a 1960s diner into a new mixed-use retail/residential development.
Other critics, including some academicians, have criticized historic neighborhood preservation as “a stalking horse for gentrification and displacement of impoverished residents,” the column reads. Despite these critiques, the columnist makes a compelling case for preservation.
“Preservation serves the vital purpose of helping people to understand, appreciate and connect with their local history at a time when historical awareness is a missing element in much of America. If preservation has gone too far, it has gone too far in the right direction. We ought to be able to manage it without denigrating the things it has achieved.”
Related Stories
| Sep 17, 2013
Complex stained glass restoration under way on Wisconsin Capitol Building
Work is under way at the Wisconsin State Capitol on an extensive $2.7 million, 14-month renovation to the skylights above the House and Senate chambers, along with the barrel vault skyline above the grand staircase and the panels in the rotunda dome.
| Sep 10, 2013
Melbourne, Australia’s ambitious retrofit program earns climate leadership award
The 1200 Buildings program in Melbourne, Australia was designed to encourage the retrofitting of 1,200 commercial buildings, or about 70% of the city’s commercial buildings stock.
| Sep 4, 2013
Twenty-nine-acre brick building complex in Watertown, Mass., to be renovated as innovation hub
The owner of a 29-acre cluster of brick buildings in Watertown, Mass., wants to reinvent the site as a 21st-century innovation hub.
| Aug 26, 2013
2013 will be record year for hotel renovations
The U.S. hotel industry is expected to spend $5.6 billion on capital expenditures this year, exceeding the most recent record of $5.5 billion set in 2008.
| Aug 19, 2013
Discovery of hidden asbestos complicates DFW terminal renovations
The finding of more asbestos in Terminal B than expected, and the pending merger of US Airways and the airport’s largest tenant, American Airlines, is causing construction delays on a $2.3 billion Dallas/Fort Worth Airport terminal renovation.
| Aug 13, 2013
Wausau acquires Custom Window in Colorado
Apogee Wausau Group, Inc., doing business as Wausau Window and Wall Systems, has acquired the assets of Benchmark Sales Agency, Inc., doing business as Custom Window Company, Inc., to expand Wausau’s product offering and U.S. geographic reach. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
| Aug 12, 2013
Decade-long renovation of Kansas Capitol Building expected to be complete by year end
A $300 million-plus, decade-long renovation of the Kansas Capitol Building in Topeka is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The exterior refurbishing of copper over the four imposing wings and around the dome should be complete by late November.
| Aug 6, 2013
Renovation of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study yields oldest LEED-certified building in U.S.
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study recently achieved LEED-NC v3 Gold certification for its renovation of the historic Fay House, making it the oldest LEED-certified building in the United States.
| Jul 29, 2013
University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, Lexington Center will be renovated
The University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena and the nearby Lexington Center will undergo a major renovation beginning next year.
| Jul 22, 2013
Life-cycle cost analysis is essential tool in energy efficiency retrofit planning
When considering energy efficiency retrofits, building owners need to do capital expenditure (CapEx) planning that includes the what, when, and why of repairs along with cost.
