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For Immediate Release (in front of Fulton Bank) Lancaster County Commissioner, Chairman Dick Shellenberger today held a 3:00 p.m. press conference to highlight county concerns about the imminent demolition of large portions of the historic Watt & Shand building on Penn Square before financing is secured and legal issues are resolved pertaining to the convention center and hotel project. In a letter hand delivered to Lancaster city Mayor Rick Gray, Lancaster County Commissioner Dick Shellenberger today asked the mayor to urge that developers halt demolition of the historic Watt & Shand building on Penn Square. Shellenberger asked that the demolition be halted until all financing is secured and the county issues its certification. Copies of the letter will be released at the press conference. The Watt & Shand, designed by the eminent 19th century architect, C. Emlen Urban, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is widely considered one of the county's architectural jewels. "The significance of the building goes well beyond its facade," said Randolph J. Harris, former Executive Director of the Historic Preservation Trust and the man principally responsible for obtaining the national historic designation. "The Watt & Shand is important in the nation's history as a social and economic institution." Shellenberger also stressed that demolition of most of the structure would discourage other developers with alternative plans for the site, should the current proposed project not move forward. An intact Watt & Shand would be eligible for federal tax credits, but would not if only the facade remained. Commissioner Shellenberger underscored the cultural value of Watt & Shand. "This building holds so many memories for this community, myself included," said Shellenberger. "Many remember the candy counter inside the front door, the Rendezvous restaurant in the basement, and the other little touches that gave the Watt & Shand a community flavor. "In light of the indeterminate status of the convention center project, it seems hasty and irresponsible to tear down a building that means so much to so many people for a project that may never be built. I am simply asking the Mayor to use his influence to have the developers stop the demolition until the total financing is secured and the county issues its certification. I feel the community deserves at least this much." August 8, 2006 Hon. J. Richard Gray Dear Mayor Gray: In light of the imminent destruction of a great historical treasure in Lancaster County, I urgently ask you to recommend to developers of the proposed hotel and convention center to halt demolition of the historic Watt & Shand building on Penn Square. I ask that demolition stop until total project financing is secured and the county issues its certification as provided by county ordinance. As you know, Judge Madenspacher's recent ruling indicated that there are substantial issues related to the County's guarantee that still need to be resolved. The Watt & Shand, designed by the eminent 19th century architect, C. Emlen Urban, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is widely considered an architectural masterpiece. Randolph J. Harris, former Executive Director of the Historic Preservation Trust and the man principally responsible for obtaining the national historic designation has said: "The significance of the building goes well beyond the facade. The Watt & Shand is important in the nation's history as a social and economic institution." It should also be stressed that demolition of most of the structure would discourage other developers with an alternative plan for the site, should the current proposed project not move forward. An intact Watt & Shand would be eligible for federal tax credits. These credits, a key financing component, would not be available if only the facade remained. The cultural value of Watt & Shand simply cannot be measured. The building holds so many memories for this community. Many remember the candy counter inside the front door, the Rendezvous restaurant in the basement, and the other little touches that gave the Watt & Shand a community flavor. Surely you will agree that because of the indeterminate status of the convention center project, it seems hasty and irresponsible to tear down a building that means so much to so many people for a project that may never be built. I implore you to use your considerable influence to have the developers stop the Watt & Shand demolition until total project financing is secured and the county issues its certification. I feel the community deserves at least this much. Sincerely, Dick Shellenberger, Chairman August 8, 2006 Dear Commissioner Shellenberger: I am writing in response to your letter of August 8, 2006 concerning the "demolition of the Watt & Shand Building." Apparently, you are operating under the misunderstanding that the six buildings commonly referred to as the "Watt & Shand Building" are being demolished in their entirety. This is incorrect. To the contrary, nearly $3 million has been appropriated to preserve and stabilize the facade of the Watt & Shand Building. Facade preservation with new buildings being built behind those original facades has been, and continues to be, a common method of urban revitalization. Numerous projects employing that technique around the country and in Europe have preserved the streetscape and the beautiful historic facades, such as the one designed by C. Emlen Urban, for the Watt & Shand Buildings. You might recall in the 1970s when the County proposed a new Courthouse, facade preservation was proposed. Unfortunately, the County did not preserve North Duke Street and "lawyers row" was torn down. We will not make the same mistake the County made in the 1970s. You should have contacted me to get an update concerning the status of demolition. At this point we have not issued demolition permits for site preparation at the Watt & Shand Buildings. We are withholding the issuance of those permits until a plan to secure financing is in place. To delay past that plan being in place and leaving it up to the County Board of Commissioners to decide when we can proceed in this matter would be obviously futile. Your stated opposition to this project, together with that of Commissioner Henderson, means that for us to rely on any assurance from you that you will objectively and fairly cooperate in the financing of this project would be merely to accept your dilatory tactics. Regarding Judge Madenspachers Opinion, I would suggest you give it a second reading. Quite simply, the issues that were ready for a decision were decided in the favor of Penn Square Partners, and to read the Opinion otherwise is merely self-delusional. The people of this City and County want a resolution of this matter. I intend to give them that. When a financing plan is in place, I intend to proceed with the project by making the site ready and assuring the preservation of the facade of the Watt & Shand Building. To do otherwise merely delays the final decisions in these matters, and severely jeopardizes the very building for which you purport your concern. Sincerely, J. Richard Gray Statement on the convention center and hotel Having reviewed the proposal to bridge the convention center funding gap, I continue to believe it is pre-mature to demolish the Watt & Shand building at this point. It remains very uncertain whether the project will be constructed. Mark Twain once refuted a published report of his obituary by observing that "the accounts of my [death] have been greatly exaggerated." Similarly, this week's published report regarding resuscitation of the convention center project has been greatly exaggerated. The major issue in the recent hearing before Judge Joseph Madenspacher was the validity of the County's 2003 guarantee covering the Convention Center Authority's construction bonds. Judge Madenspacher's decision did not rule on whether the guarantee is valid. Rather, he said there are substantial questions concerning validity of the guarantee. Judge Madenspacher also stated he cannot rule on validity of the guarantee until receiving further evidence at another hearing. That future hearing has not been scheduled. Therefore, for the Convention Center Authority to sell construction bonds at this time, potential buyers would need to be advised that the county does not believe the 2003 guarantee is valid, that Judge Madenspacher has acknowledged that there are certain questions for the validity of the guarantee. The issue will not be resolved until the judge holds another hearing and renders another decision. In addition, the plan reported this week to address the project's funding gap has many unanswered questions. For instance, why does the authority believe someone will pay $2 million for naming rights, and where will the $2 million come from if a private sponsor does not materialize? Similarly, what happens if the $5.25 million of value engineering is not obtained, what happens if the Historic Preservation Trust does not pay $3 million for the historic easements, and what happens if other elements of the funding plan do not come to fruition? In other words, having a funding plan is very different than securing actual funding. Because validation of the 2003 County Guarantee Agreement has not been resolved and other uncertainties continue to surround the project, it would be improper and premature to tear down the Watt & Shand building at this time. As I have previously stated, alternative uses of that site may require use of historic preservation tax credits that will not be available if only the facade remains. Why tear down the building and throw away the possible alternatives when so many valid questions remain on whether the current plan can proceed? Nobody has provided a prudent answer to that question. Once demolished, the Watt & Shand building cannot be undemolished. I, therefore, believe that demolition should wait until such critical questions are resolved. Contact the Lancaster County Commissioners' Office by calling (717) 299-8300.
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