June 20, 2015 Honorable Greg Fisher, Mayor City of Louisville 527 W. Jefferson Street 4th Floor Louisville, KY 40202 RE: Water Company Building Reuse Proposals Dear Mayor Fisher, We are pleased to submit the attached summary report from the Water Company Building Design Charrette, which took place yesterday, June 19, at the Urban Design Studio in downtown Louisville. More than 40 community members and expert practitioners participated in this all day session, including architects, developers, historic preservationists, representatives from civic organizations, city staff, and members of the public. A full list of participants is included in the report. The Preservation Green Lab served as the convener of this event, along with our local preservation partner, Preservation Louisville. The charrette was facilitated by Nore Winter, principal with Winter & Company of Boulder, Colorado. This report summarizes the goals, process, and results from the Charrette and is presented in response to your May 21 request for proposals to preserve the Water Company Building. Five alternative solutions are detailed in the report, including four options for moving the Water Company Building to new sites and one option for keeping the building on its current site. Site plans, proposed uses, and general financing strategies are included for each site, along with a list of community benefits, issues that remain to be resolved, and proposed next steps. Below are the five reuse proposals for the Water Company Buildings were developed at the charrette: x Option 1: Green Space, First and Muhammad Ali. x Option 2a: Oddfellows (gas station), Second and Muhammad Ali. x Option 2b: Pendennis Club (parking lot), Second and Muhammad Ali. x Option 3: &ŽƵŶĚĞƌ͛Ɛ ^ƋƵĂƌĞ, Fifth and Muhammad Ali. x Option 4: Current site, Third Street. For the first four options, participants confirmed through field measurements that it would be possible to move the Water Company Building to each of the proposed new sites. As seen in the report, the five charrette design teams were remarkably creative and productive. We believe that the options presented in this report clearly demonstrate that there are several viable alternatives to demolishing the Water Company Building as part of the Omni Hotel Development. To bring one of these reuse alternatives to fruition will require further investigation and planning, however. Additional time is needed to work with property owners, potential developers, architects, city staff, and other partners to realize a reuse plan for the Water Company Building. Based on the passion, creativiƚLJ͕ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂƐ ĞǀŝĚĞŶƚ Ăƚ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ĐŚĂƌƌĞƚƚĞ͕ ǁĞ ĂƌĞ ĐŽŶĨŝĚĞŶƚ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ Louisville design, development, and preservation community is ready to work together with the city to make this happen.
In reviewing this report, we hope that you and your staff will consider the following next steps: 1) Protect the Water Company Building from further water damage. Wood trim should be removed from standing water, fans installed to dry out the building, and temporary roof covering added to prevent leaks. 2) Convene a Water Company Building Reuse Task Force to work with the design, development, and preservation community over the next 90 days to develop a full reuse proposal that meets ƚŚĞ ŐŽĂůƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞŵĞŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ KŵŶŝ ,ŽƚĞů ƐŝƚĞ͕ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ͛s strongly expressed desire to find a creative reuse solution for the Water Company Building. Thank you for consideration of these steps and of the reuse alternatives presented in the Water Company Building Design Charrette Report. This report represents the talent, vision, and commitment of a remarkable group of Louisville leaders. Like you, they care deeply about their community and its potential to become an even more economically diverse, vibrant, and sustainable city in the future. We look forward to your response, and to working together with you in the coming months. Sincerely,
Jim Lindberg, Senior Director Preservation Green Lab National Trust for Historic Preservation
Charles Cash, President Preservation Louisville, Inc.