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MAYOR SEEKS DEMOLITION FREEZE ; VCU PRESIDENT FRUSTRATED BY MCCOLLUM'S BID TO PROTECT PUBLIC BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN;
David Ress. Richmond Times - Dispatch. Richmond, Va.: Sep 16, 2004.
"Decisions to demolish these buildings are made at the state level. Yet, they have serious consequences for the city of Richmond and its historic character," [Rudolph C. McCollum Jr.] said.
"Richmond's citizens have little or no control over the fate of these properties once the state decides to take them offline," McCollum said. "Some buildings, like the former Murphy Hotel, now the Eighth Street Office Building, have been sorely neglected and allowed literally to crumble to the street."
One would cover the historic buildings on the Virginia Commonwealth University medical campus around 12th and Broad streets. The other would include the old Murphy Hotel and Hotel Richmond, now state-owned office buildings, on Eighth and Ninth streets between Broad and Grace.
Full Text (649 words)
Copyright Richmond Newspapers, Incorporated Sep 16, 2004
Richmond's mayor is calling for a moratorium on tearing down public buildings, including VCU's West Hospital, in downtown Richmond.
The freeze would be part of a three-pronged effort to preserve historical structures in the city, said Mayor Rudolph C. McCollum Jr.
He said Virginia Commonwealth University's plans to demolish its art deco West Hospital, A.D. Williams Clinic and Nursing Education Building show the city needs a louder voice when the state wants to demolish its facilities in the city.
McCollum said he is also concerned about the state-owned office buildings on Eighth and Ninth streets between Broad and Grace streets.
"Decisions to demolish these buildings are made at the state level. Yet, they have serious consequences for the city of Richmond and its historic character," McCollum said.
"Richmond's citizens have little or no control over the fate of these properties once the state decides to take them offline," McCollum said. "Some buildings, like the former Murphy Hotel, now the Eighth Street Office Building, have been sorely neglected and allowed literally to crumble to the street."
He called for a partnership with the state to think about reusing state-owned structures in Richmond. State Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D- Richmond, said he would support such an effort.
"We have seen an explosion of creative reuse of buildings in the city of Richmond," he said. "It would be a shame if we couldn't partner on this."
VCU President Eugene P. Trani said he was disappointed that the mayor and Marsh did not talk to him about the university's plans before criticizing them.
"We provide $107 million of indigent medical care $47 million to people in the city of Richmond and the city is not paying one penny of that. I'd like the mayor to talk about that .*.*.*. I didn't see one word in his remarks about health care," Trani said.
"We're trying to create a modern academic medical center. .*.*. Those buildings are old, they're tired and they need to rest."
Trani said he was frustrated by the mayor's comments because VCU had been airing its plans for West Hospital and the other buildings for the past nine months, including meetings with city officials. He said no one had raised any objections or concerns.
State historic preservation officials decided in 1992 that the buildings should come down, Trani said. Earlier this year, they again formally approved VCU's plans to demolish the Nursing Education Building at 1220 E. Broad St.
Trani said he believes the state review of state-owned buildings provides good protection for historic buildings.
But McCollum said he would like the city to compile an inventory of historic buildings downtown and develop a plan for rehabilitating them.
He said he thought that could be completed within a year.
McCollum also wants to create a city landmarks commission, which could designate buildings for preservation, set guidelines for alterations and review any requests to demolish buildings that are more than 50 years old.
He also proposed two new "old and historic districts," similar to the ones for Shockoe Slip, Monument Avenue and the residential portions of Jackson Ward.
One would cover the historic buildings on the Virginia Commonwealth University medical campus around 12th and Broad streets. The other would include the old Murphy Hotel and Hotel Richmond, now state-owned office buildings, on Eighth and Ninth streets between Broad and Grace.
"It is very rare that a mayor has taken such a stand, in such a forceful way on preserving historic buildings," said Garland Pollard, chairman of the advocacy committee of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities' Richmond branch.
Pollard said it would be a shame if tax credits for rehabilitating historic buildings were unused, or if the city missed a chance to turn old state-owned buildings, which pay no taxes, into properties whose owners would pay taxes.
Credit: Times-Dispatch Staff Writer Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or dress@timesdispatch.com
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