Friday, November 21, 2008

Restore Colonial Gardens


The South-End's Colonial Gardens has been designated as an "Individual Local Landmark" by the Louisville Metro Landmarks Commission, essentially saving it from demolition by developers.

Yesterday's Courier-Journal reported:

"Developers who originally wanted to demolish the building to build a commercial development now are unsure about the future of their plans. The building sits on land that was formerly called Senning’s Park, which featured the city’s first zoo.

“It’s certainly not an outcome we were looking for,” said Tim McDonogh, one of the investors with the South End Investment Group.

McDonogh said the group would meet soon to discuss whether it would take its plans through the city’s Architectural Review Committee, which would require extenuating circumstances, such as financial hardship, for demolition of any part of the building.

In August, the commission delayed a decision on designating the building at 818 W. Kenwood Drive as a local landmark following an Aug. 19 public hearing at Iroquois High School attended by several hundred impassioned residents.

The agreement gave the South End Investment Group 90 days to develop a plan to define and preserve the “character-defining features of the street-facing facades” of the building. In turn, the developers agreed not to demolish the building during that period."
You can read about the history of Colonial Gardens and the fight for the landmark designation by visiting http://www.restorecolonialgardens.org/

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