If I mess it up, I'd have more to lose than anybody. Oversight by the preservation commission, he fears, would inhibit redevelopment. Katz said he'd like to put housing, possibly with balconies, in the upper floors of the Schwartz store and the Mulkern building. And he might like to change the vacant Coffee Trader building, in order to lure national retailers. He ought to talk to Einar Tangen, president of the Historic Third Ward Association.
Authenticity is a big attraction down here.
Preserving historic character, on the other hand, makes people more willing to make long-term commitments to the neighborhood. It's hard to argue with that. And while Katz may believe he has the Downer Ave. Sandra McSweeney, who chairs the commission, says there's nothing in the rules to prohibit modern buildings, so long as they're sympathetically designed. The idea is to ensure that everyone is singing out of the same hymnal.