Historic Harrisburg
Association:
It's different when it's your
elephant . . .
We cannot comprehend the cognitive
dissonance evident between Historic Harrisburg's proactive reaction to United Way's proposed
demolition of its fire-damaged headquarters located in the former Baker Mansion and
HHA's own stealth sale of the Swallow
Mansion to Annette Antoun, an absentee property owner with a documented track record of blight.
In his September, 2000 column in HHA's newsletter, former* Executive Director Ted Martin expounded at length on the efforts the organization
was undertaking to market the Baker Mansion.
|
Excerpts
from HHA Executive Director Ted Martin's September, 2000 "On the Level" column:
"..we must all do our part to help the Baker
Mansion find a new owner who will carefully preserve and maintain this
important Front Street property."
"If the
United Way would market the Baker Mansion, HHA would use our Community
Historic Preservation Fund to help with a realtor's fee, we would work
to get the property on the National Register of Historic Places, thus
making it more attractive to any potential buyer, and we would partner
with the City of Harrisburg to assist the owners in finding an
alternative office space.
"Over 300 citizens
from throughout the region signed our petition (urging) alternatives to demolition. Many of the same
people wrote letters to the editor, discussed the issue with their
neighbors, lobbied United Way Board members and spoke out at several
public meetings... HHA's Endangered Buildings Committee met
numerous times to craft solutions and strategies.
"... crowds at the public meetings kept growing and people's
attention became focused on this property largely because HHA members
wouldn't stop talking about it.
"Enclosed in this newsletter, you will
find a sales flier on the building. Interested parties are invited to come
forward. Everyone is encouraged to spread the news about the availability
of this beautiful property. When you see the sales advertisement, paid for
jointly by HHA and United Way, in the next issue of the National Trusts
Magazine, Preservation, spread it around and know that we are trying very
hard to help market the Baker Mansion.
" ... I encourage all HHA members to make a special
effort to help market this building to a buyer who will respect its
architectural integrity. Working together, we can keep each other informed
of individuals, companies, or organizations that might be considering
relocation or expansion. Please keep this property at the top of your
mind. This is both an opportunity and a challenge we can certainly not
afford to squander. Let's not let the Baker Mansion down."
|
|
It is disturbing to note that
simultaneous with developing a marketing
strategy for one endangered white elephant, Martin was engaged in
divesting HHA of its own pale pachyderm.
Evidently a champion of networking, Martin urges HHA members to
"keep each other informed" yet made no attempt to alert
residents of Old Fox Ridge that negotiations were underway for the sale of
a key property in the neighborhood to Annette Antoun.
HHA officials claim not to have known of Antoun's ownership of a
seriously blighted property only four doors from the Swallow
Mansion.
We find this astounding but understandable. It's what happens
when due diligence is given short shrift.
Historic Harrisburg Association's credibility has been gravely
compromised. The organization cannot hope to be taken seriously on
issues of historic preservation until the grievous error of the Swallow
Mansion sale is acknowledged.
In light of the extraordinary lengths the organization
went on
behalf of the Baker Mansion, cynical assertions by HHA officials that the
Swallow Mansion was "marketed" are laughable.
An 8" x 11" 'For Sale' sign stapled to the building is not
a marketing campaign by any professional standard.
Martin offers the sop that the sales agreement specifies the
Swallow Mansion must be restored to Secretary of Interior's standards for
historic preservation, but admits HHA has no power to enforce the clause.
Antoun is likely to regard that unenforceable clause as seriously as she
does building permits and Architectural Review Board approval.
We are fearful for the future of historic preservation in
Pennsylvania's capitol city and have no confidence in HHA as a credible
advocate.
*Editor's note:
Ted Martin, who during his entire tenure as Executive Director of Historic
Harrisburg Association never resided in the city, resigned his position in
January,
2001
to join the staff of Team Pennsylvania Foundation. Although
the Baker Mansion appears to have been saved by the intervention of a
private party, the fate of the Swallow
Mansion and Old Fox Ridge is far less certain.
