Judge rules council was wrong: new design doesn't fly
Kara Lemarie
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: News
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Judge Jon Spar sided with residents such as Jim Jung, Jack Thornborough and Dennis Cauchon, who have been opposed to the renovations on the basis of the building's historic image ever since the university approached the council over a year ago.
The design, created by Denison alumnus Jack Beyer of the Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners firm in New York, includes a substantial addition on the east side, internal renovation and a center for studio art and art history.
The firm has also taken part in large-scale restorations of Washington D.C.'s Union Station, Ellis Island, Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, and Princeton University.
The proposed addition would be built over the foundation, adding two stories of translucent glass studios that would bring in natural light.
These glass studios are what many residents oppose, said Thornborough, a former Denison biology professor.
But despite the recent court ruling, construction, estimated to cost nearly $14 million, has not stopped completely.
"The village has to decide, and we have to decide, that the ruling makes legal sense, and then we'd have to go back to architect and talk about modifying the design, which would mostly just change the skin on the east side," President Dale Knobel said.
According to Scott Walker, manger of energy and construction for the Denison Facilities Service Office, the court order put a stop to outside renovations on the 1904 building.
"The court ruling basically took away our building permit," Walker said.
Knobel said that inside construction is still underway.
"Nobody's disputing over inside renovations, so we will continue to renovate on the inside - once we get a new building permit - while we decide on the outside," he said.
Thornborough said he was stunned by the idea of constructing it in Granville's historic district.
"The district is like a museum," he said. "It would be like [The College of] William and Mary building a modern building in the middle of Williamsburg. It doesn't matter how beautiful the building is, you can't put a Manhattan-like building in the middle of Granville."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Carmen
posted 3/26/08 @ 9:35 AM EST
It seems to me that since Denison benefits GREATLY from the historic charm of Granville, they would do well to respect not only the letter of the law that protects the town, but also the spirit of the law. (Continued…)
Brian C.B.
posted 3/26/08 @ 3:46 PM EST
By the way, the College of William and Mary is a Commonwealth institution and exempt from all local building regulations, needing to obey only the Commonwealth's separate regulations, ones that apply to Virginia's government-owned buildings. (Continued…)
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