HOPE CAMPBELL: Misinformation surrounds plans to demolish Albany High building

I am writing this to the citizens of Albany, the Albany City Commission, the Albany Chamber of Commerce, and The Albany Herald in an effort to correct the misinformation circulating with respect to the application by Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital to the Historic Preservation Commission to demolish four historic buildings, with the Beaux Arts-style high school the centerpiece of the application.

1. The HPC was established in 1996 by the Albany and Dougherty County Boards of Commissioners with the sole purpose of protecting and preserving Albany’s historic districts and the architectural assets within them. A list of historic districts and architectural assets was compiled, and guidelines were established by professional architectural preservationists. The HPC’s standard procedure is to review requests for Certificates of Appropriateness submitted by applicants before their hearing. This ensures that personal feelings are not imposed on any decision and that the commission follows the ordinances and guidelines that were established by the city and county.

2. The hospital has characterized the Historic Preservation Commission’s position regarding their demolition request as opposition to the very concept of a living and learning center that has been proposed by the hospital and Albany Technical College. They have also accused the HPC of foolishly obstructing progress and economic growth. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What the HPC opposes is the demolition of four historic buildings when there are other viable options.

3. The hospital and the City Commission have claimed that the school is not a significant historical asset worth preserving. The school was designed by the esteemed T. Firth Lockwood and Otis Clay Poundstone architectural firm and completed in 1925. The significance of their work is indicated by the large number (at least 15 in Georgia) of their projects that have been preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

4. The hospital and the City Commission have implied that the HPC’s denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness to demolish four historic buildings is arbitrary. However, neither the hospital, the City Commission, The Albany Herald, nor the Albany Chamber has acknowledged a number of facts. First, in 2017, the HPC adopted an additional set of guidelines with regard to the expansion of the hospital’s facilities. Phoebe was aware of and agreed to the amended guidelines. In those amended guidelines, it was stipulated that the school and the Christian Science Reading Room are significant historic buildings and that they should be preserved with ordinary maintenance. In fact, based on those very guidelines, the HPC approved a Certificate of Appropriateness applied for by the hospital in June 2022, for a $140 million project, with one stipulation. Since the construction could possibly have a considerable impact on the structural integrity of the Christian Science building, the HPC required that the hospital present a plan for its continued preservation.

Second, the professional city staff who advise the HPC based on federal and state laws and local ordinances and guidelines recommended denial of the high school demolition application. Although the hospital claimed that the building is unsound, the city building inspector found that not to be the case.

5. Mr. Steiner claimed, and The Albany Herald and the Chamber have claimed, that the HPC has insisted that the only acceptable course of action is to return the school to its original 1925 state. That is a patently false claim. The HPC supports the adaptive re-use of historic properties. Demolishing a building and tacking a facsimile of the original façade onto an overscaled modern building is, frankly, an insult to the integrity of both architectural styles.

6. At the City Commission hearing of the appeal by the hospital to overturn the decision of the HPC, Commissioner Jalen Johnson asked Mr. Steiner if anyone has shown any interest in the school. Mr. Steiner responded that there has been no interest in the building, and he stated that he would personally welcome any interest by any party seeking to renovate the building. In fact, he was in discussions with a local real estate developer who provided a realistic plan for the adaptive re-use of the school to fit the hospital’s needs. It would be financed entirely by private funds. At a lower cost than Mr. Steiner’s proposal. With this option, the properties would return to the tax role and generate property tax revenue.

7. The hospital and the Hospital Authority have claimed that the denial of the demolition permit will harm the hospital financially, making the claim that Phoebe is a “charity” hospital. May I remind you that the hospital is about to embark on another, $140 million, project? I would like to make note of an additional fact. In his presentation for the COA, Mr. Steiner asserted with great pride that the entire $40 million cost of the Living and Learning Center, as proposed, would not require any taxpayer money. Phoebe could finance it out of pocket. And furthermore, the investment would be recouped by the hospital in just one year. Even if the project were to cost two or three times as much, following Mr. Steiner’s logic, the amortization period would likely be only two to three years. Any for-profit business would be thrilled with those numbers.

8. The hospital has claimed that the denial by the HPC of their application to demolish the school has created an additional hardship by causing an untenable delay in construction, resulting in a delay in opening the program. Aside from the fact that the Albany Technical College nursing program already exists and is already training nurses, the hospital moved forward for two years with its plans to demolish the high school without consulting the HPC, even though they knew that the school has been identified as a significant historic asset to the city. They concealed their plans until they could claim an emergency and demand the right to proceed. This tactic, and this tactic alone, is responsible for the hospital’s hardship.

9. The HPC has offered several alternative locations for the living and learning center. One option would be to locate the center on any of the 9 acres of vacant land adjacent to the hospital. This would eliminate the cost of demolition entirely, and the project could move swiftly ahead. Another option would be to utilize some of the former Palmyra Medical Center that was removed from the city tax digest when Phoebe bought the facility. That location is not in the historic district and is largely vacant and underused. And of course, a local real estate developer offers the best of all options. His proposal to restore the exterior of the building to its original appearance while meeting the needs of the hospital is a win for everyone, the hospital, the city and the citizens of Albany.

I know the members of the HPC well. I am one. We are a body of citizen volunteers who donate many hours of our time every month to review requests for material changes to historic buildings. If Phoebe is allowed to circumvent the Historic Preservation ordinance and the amended guidelines that they accepted in 2017, how can the HPC, in good conscience, enforce the preservation guidelines for everyone else who owns a historic building? In fact, why even have a preservation ordinance?