Hmm... you're right. It's puzzling, since this building is historic [[by ordinance standards), is pretty, and is of a scale and condition that make it amenable to reuse.
But I guess there is a difference between being a preservationist and a building hoarder. The usual excuse of hoarders is that the hoarded items will be valuable someday, but the reality is that they do not discriminate between what is actually likely to be valuable and what is garbage:The hoarder may mistakenly believe that the hoarded items are very valuable, or the hoarder may know that the accumulated items are useless, or may attach a strong personal value to items which they recognize would have little or no value to others [[Wikipedia).Hoarding tendencies, I think, explains why there is such knee-jerk "preservationism" on DetroitYes.
But why there is so little action with something like the University Club, which both arguably meets historic district criteria and is still relatively useful, is a different question. You would think that people who get upset about demolitions of old things would be more up-to-date on - and active in - pursuing the relatively simple mechanisms available to everyday citizens. And react more quickly [[if not be pro-active) in addressing things. It's not like filing a petition with City Council is that difficult.
But I think you can see the hoarder's mental paralysis where things like this building go ignored at the same time people get their shorts tied in a knot about buildings that are much weaker on the historic district criteria and have [[or had) much less chance of survival. Too much distraction. Too many things to "save" by complaining on the internet.
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