Oak Ridge
Heritage and Preservation Association
February 14, 2008
Minutes – Monthly Meeting
Attendance: Ruth Ann Maddux, Jean Stone, Betty Stokes, Lloyd Stokes, John Clark,
Dave Miller, Margaret Allard, Ken Whitehouse, Peggy Whitehouse, Anne McBride,
Bill Henry, Andrei Petrov, George Darko, Bobbie Martin, Bill Wilcox, Ellen
Smith, Stella Schramm, Ed Sullivan, Jack Mansfield, Myra Mansfield, Mick Wiest,
J. D. Hutchins, Harold Jernigan, Bill Tewes and Jane Shelton.
The meeting began at 7:12 p.m. in the Wildcat Den Room of the Midtown Community
Center. There were 25 people present. (See attachment 1 on file.)
Board Member, Betty Stokes presided at the meeting. Betty commented that long
time member, Sara Gillespie passed away this week. Sara was a very active member
of our organization and served on the ORHPA Product Development Committee for
several years. She will be missed by all of us who knew and worked with her.
Betty announced there will be an ORHPA Board of Directors meeting on Friday,
February 22 at 5:30 p.m. here at the Midtown Community Center. All are welcome
to attend the Board Meeting.
Mick Wiest, Chairman of the Building Preservation Committee reported the
Glenwood Dormitory is available for purchase if anyone is interested in having
it. The Church that owns it may be interested in selling the original dormitory.
Mick’s committee has also been working with AMSE to help design a pod display on
the seven facilities in our community that are most in need of being saved for
future generations. AMSE is planning to develop the pod display and have it open
to the public by mid- April. On Saturday, February 16 at 10 a.m. there will be a
presentation and discussion, led by Joe Lee, on the Guest House here at the
Midtown Community Center. All are welcome to attend.
Bill Wilcox reported on the Partners for K-25 Preservation activities. Bill
reminded everyone about the public meeting on February 19, from 5-8 p.m. in the
New Hope Center on Scarboro Road. The meeting is sponsored by the Site Specific
Advisory Board and the Local Oversight Committee for the Department of Energy.
Everyone needs to come and bring their friends to give DOE their views on
preserving the North End Building of K-25. This is DOE’s last and best chance to
save K-25. DOE will be passing out and requesting questionnaires be returned
from the attendees. The questionnaires are also available online at:
www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/ssab/k-25questionnaire.htm (note: DOE announced on Feb.
19 that they will be accepting completed questionnaires through the end of
February at the DOE Local Information Office.)
Betty Stokes introduced our guest speaker for the evening, Dr. Stella Schramm.
Dr. Schramm is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Tusculum College. The
topic of Dr. Schramm’s talk was, “Lessons Learned from the Redevelopment of the
New Orleans Historic Warehouse and Riverfront District.”
Dr. Schramm spoke about how one can view economic development in an urban
environment as a living body or living work of art, a type of living sculpture.
In this example the roads and public utilities make up the nerves of the body.
The parks and businesses are the flesh on the body. The people who move through
the environment are the blood of the living sculpture. The manner in which the
people, both residents and tourists interact brings excitement to the sculpture.
All the parts are necessary to the whole.
In the case of New Orleans, the Downtown Development District is a separate body
within the community. The community is defined by the sculpture which changes
over time. With nurturing, the body expands and its uses also change over time.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s the French Quarter was redeveloped - the best land is
redeveloped first. The Garden District was redeveloped next. The last district
to be redeveloped was the most derelict area (having only a 10% occupancy rate);
this was an historic district with many of the surprises you find in old
buildings. Dr. Schramm commented that some of the surprises found were very
good, such as buried gold Spanish coins and some were very dangerous like long
forgotten, long buried, chemical caches which exploded when disturbed by a back
hoe.
In ten years time the entire Warehouse and Waterfront Districts were renovated.
This included 3 billion dollars worth of investment. Various factors contributed
to the redevelopment effort being completed in just 10 years.
Some very dedicated realtors invested many, many hours in researching the
ownership of the land – not an easy task where properties have been transferred
over several centuries and several countries of ownership. Law firms and
architecture firms were urban pioneers. Hosting the World’s Fair also provided
an impetus for utilities to go into the area. The Aquarium was the last piece of
public investment to be built in the district.
In working for the “Economic Development Council”- Dr. Schramm said one became
aware that the public part of any development can be derailed by independent
special interests looking out for themselves instead of the whole community’s
best interests.
Important points to remember when redeveloping an area are that what you are
doing has to make sense on a “lower or elemental” level. “When you sit and
experience an area, does it provide shelter, have comfortable lighting, paving
and is it safe?” You want to make sure it is comfortable to experience.
Another lesson learned is that it’s important to identify overlapping uses for
your infrastructure –this helps to provide a critical mass and supports an
identity as a community. Historical structures are already on the best locations
and already have a sense of identity, contributing to making an area more
vibrant.
When you redevelop an historic area you are making it “living today.” This
provides an experience, for a person, which is interesting and “authentic.”
When you start a redevelopment of an historic area the market will respond. The
excitement generated attracts others.
There are also always unintended consequences whenever you change the way the
flow in a community moves. You need to think through these possible changes as
much as possible.
Historic redevelopment can not be copied anywhere else. There is a very good
“bang for the buck” with historic redevelopment - because of the heightened
sense of identity it provides.
Dr. Schramm commented that in a community like Oak Ridge, we need a “big dream”
for redevelopment. People will buy into a “big dream” when it makes sense to
them.
Betty Stokes thanked Dr. Schramm for coming to speak with us and presented her
with a copy of the George O. Robinson book, “The Oak Ridge Story.” This is the
book that ORHPA’s Product Development Committee had reprinted last year.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
We thank Dave Miller for organizing the refreshments.
The next ORHPA regular meeting will be on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted,
Anne McBride, Secretary,
Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association
February 22, 2008
