After a six-hour-long deliberation Wednesday, the city’s Landmarks Commission failed to come to a decision on the 121, 123 and 127 W. Gilman St. reconstruction projects and relocation of 123 W. Gilman St.
The Steve Brown Apartment representatives presented Commission members with revised plans for a proposal to build three new apartments on the West Gilman Street site that were initially considered too large and not aesthetically pleasing, according to the Landmarks Commission.
The new plans include three five-story condo-quality apartments constructed entirely of brick on the outside and wider openings of the windows and doors as requested by Commission members from the previous meeting. The proposal also included an underground garage to accommodate residents’ vehicles without obstructing street space.
The plans were not received warmly by Commission members and many members of the public who spoke out during the meeting against the plans.
Most of the controversy was centered on the claims that 127 W. Gilman St. was intentionally left to erode, which drove it to a state of almost irreparable damage and, in turn, would allow the company to demolish the structure and rebuild on the property according to Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6.
Steve Brown Apartments received engineering reports in 2000 and 2002 showing the building was in need of costly structural repairs. The company responded with cosmetic repairs that did not contribute to the state of the building’s structure according to Commission members.
Ross Wuennenburg, a member of the public who once lived in 123 W. Gilman St. during the 1970s and currently owns property on State Street, offered his insight and said it was an obvious attempt on the company’s part to allow 127 W. Gilman St. to erode.
“I’m worried about demolition by neglect,” Wuennenburg said.
“A lot of this concerns me about the viability of our historic districts,” Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, said. “Because there are landlords, particularly in Mansion Hill, who are wringing the life out of some of the buildings. If that’s okay, then we don’t have a historic district.”
Despite the controversial assumptions about demolition by neglect, the Landmarks Commission referred the decision for Steve Brown to relocate 123 W. Gilman St. or demolish 127 W. Gilman St. and the Highlander apartment complex.
The members of the Landmarks Commission originally asked for the new apartment proposals to be lower in height. Steve Brown Representatives altered their models but not to the extent of the Commission’s request.
Steve Brown Apartments representatives will present revised plans which include four-story tall apartments that take up less than 200,000 square feet to the Landmarks Commission at its next meeting Feb. 3.
