Richmond Heights Deputy Mayor Matt Casey said after the council meeting on Tuesday, when officials OK’d a new Total Access Urgent Care, replacing Waldbart Florist and Jon Paul Designs, that it was “difficult to stop the re-development.”
He said residents talked about it being a historic building, but that wasn’t enough to save it.
“In my mind, it’s not on an historic register anywhere, but it is iconic, and believe me, I would love to see it preserved,” Casey said. “We can only operate within the rule book, and it’s difficult to hinder or stop a private transaction like that.”
Asked if the other older buildings in the blocks south of the corner could also be razed for re-development, Casey said those buildings also have no historic status or protection.
“We don’t have any historic preservation ordinance to that effect,” he said. “How do we classify what’s historic and what’s not? That’s subjective. Again, I’d say more iconic than historic.”
See also: Richmond Heights OK’s urgent care business, Waldbart Florist demolition
During the meeting, Casey asked Dr. Matt Bruckel, CEO of Total Access Urgent Care, if it could have been possible to save the facade of the old building.
Bruckel said the building is in “complete disrepair.” He said it’s not earthquake resistant and contains asbestos. He called it a fire hazard, though a city employee said on Thursday that the building had been inspected and if it didn’t meet fire codes it would be closed.
Bruckel also said, most importantly for his business, is that it’s built on different tiered foundations. “As a medical facility we would have to build ramps in the building, and at one inch per foot it would be prohibitively expensive to build our business on a slope like this.
“We’re not here to hip-check anyone,” Bruckel said. “We just want to open a business. Citizens of Richmond Heights asked us to come into this community. It’s a great corner for our business and I think you’ll be proud once we get up and running; once the original crisis, or transition, is over,” he said.
Why doesn’t he seek the Schnucks corner. Been sitting there for years and is very visible.
I usually appreciate old buildings so maybe I just haven’t lived here long enough to have fond memories of that old building. But it was just that, old.
To say that the city could just vote “No” to a business ,with a legal right to purchase and build a legal business, for no valid reason seems a bit preposterous.
Now that the decision is made perhaps all this effort can be put towards encouraging the new owner to build a building that fits in with the old architecture of the area.
“it’s difficult to hinder or stop a private transaction like that.” Really?! All you had to do was vote against it. It’s shouldn’t be that easy to stop a private transaction, but that’s literally all the council had to do.
Bruckel said “citizens of Richmond Heights asked us to come to this community” thats a bunch of bologna.
No, Mr. Bruckel. We won’t be proud. We’ll be reminded every time we drive past your business that you tore down a building everyone wanted to save. And everyone who drives past that building can see that it is not “complete disrepair.” What a laughable claim. It might need some extra maintenance if the owner before you didn’t care for it properly, but it most certainly can be saved. No one is fooled by your rhetoric.
“We’re not here to hip-check anyone,” Bruckel said. “We just want to open a business. Citizens of Richmond Heights asked us to come into this community. It’s a great corner for our business and I think you’ll be proud once we get up and running; once the original crisis, or transition, is over,” he said.
REALLY?
Who believes this? Seriously? The only “invitation” that was given was NOT by the citizens of RH–it was a sleezy, underhanded ‘invitation’ of retail greed that was approved by asleep at the wheel RH city council. Once again RH is willing to whore away its character and residents for yet ANOTHER piece of retail ugliness. I am BEYOND DISGUSTED.
Excuse me. But isn’t there an Urgent Care a couple a couple blocks South on Big Bend, Yes in Richmond Heights? Is anyone safe from corporate takeover any more?
And as I drove by last night at 6pm there was NOT one car in that new Urgent care parking lot.