[timun]

Lots of fallacies to be unpacked in this post:

Originally Posted by Muta

often times, I think people get too nostalgic / sentimental about buildings that are no longer in use and are likely impeding growth as cities grow.

These buildings are not "impeding growth", they're already surrounded by high-rise towers.

Many of these proposed buildings for demolition are dilapidated and are sitting empty / underused as is.

The ones along 8th, not at all. The ones along 7th Ave, sure. They are sad examples of "demolition by neglect", where deliberately neglecting their maintenance has made them attractive targets for tearing down.

That is a very, very central / high-value block that can be a catalyst for other development in the core going forward

The city's tallest building is kitty-corner from the NW corner of this block, the second-tallest building is one block from the NE corner of this block, and the third-tallest building is quite literally right across the street. What exactly would this new development "catalyze" that hasn't already been "catalyzed"...?

We don't keep most cars that become outdated, or appliances or clothes (we buy new goods), so why don't we hold buildings to the same standard?

We don't keep most buildings. Only an eensy weensy, teeny tiny proportion of buildings in this city are anywhere near as old as the ones being torn down in this proposal. 99.99999...% of all buildings from the 1890s are gone. To use cars as an analogy, these are the Curved Dash Oldsmobiles of our city: the handful left.

Sure, keep ones that have a unique history and still can serve a physical purpose; keep them if you have the resources to restore or modernize them (the St. Louis Hotel and the King Edward Hotel come to mind).

They all have unique histories and can still serve a purpose.

But we should really not let nostalgia, NIMBYism and predictable fear of change get in the way of something that can be transformational for an urban core, likely resulting in something greater than the sum of its parts.

This will not be "transformational for our urban core, resulting in something greater than the sum of its parts"; that's pure marketing-speak bull####.