bakerhuntcampus4

It is not typical for a majority of the Covington City Commission to attend meetings of the city’s urban design review board (UDRB) but perhaps Mayor Sherry Carran and City Commissioners Chuck Eilerman and Jordan Huizenga were there on Monday evening in anticipation that a proposal from Baker Hunt Arts & Cultural Center would end up before them.

If so, they were likely correct.

The UDRB voted 5-1 to reject Baker Hunt’s proposed “garden pavilion”, a sharp, contemporary, angled glass and iron structure that would be placed on its Greenup Street campus between two historic buildings. City Hall was full for the meeting, the second for the proposal. The UDRB opted to table the pavilion last month, hoping to learn more about it and to offer GBBN Architects an opportunity to make any changes.

Neighbors of Baker Hunt that spoke at the two meetings were mostly opposed to the plan, arguing that it interrupts the historic streetscape and is too far a departure from the 19th century Victorian architecture that helped land the Historic Licking Riverside neighborhood as one of America’s 10 best, according to the American Planning Association.

At this second meeting, though, there were more words of support. While a good portion of positive reaction came from Baker Hunt staff, it also came from Jeanne Schroer, president of the Catalytic Fund, the organization behind the redevelopment of every high profile historic renovation currently underway in downtown Covington. While Schroer has often been on the same side of the preservationists opposed to Baker Hunt’s proposal, she called the arts campus’s plan “a special case”.

“It doesn’t involve the demolition of a historic structure and it relates to a one of a kind institution in the city,” Schroer said. “As a resident of Covington and of this neighborhood who has a made a pretty significant investment in my property, I think a bold architectural statement in my neighborhood only enhanced the value of my property. The proposed Baker Hunt addition demonstrates what I think is special about Covington: It’s a place where people want to visit and where people from diverse backgrounds want to live, with new ideas and new possibilities.

“We are very fortunate that Baker Hunt is considering such a major investment in Covington.”

Others from the Catalytic Fund, Joe Klare and Jennifer Rawers, also spoke in favor of the project. “The pavilion will complement the existing Baker Hunt campus and give the community at large beyond Covington an incredible asset,” said Klare, a board member at the Preservation Kentucky and the Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation.
 
All from the Catalytic Fund expressed that their opinions were that of themselves and not of the organization where they are employed.
 
Historic Preservation Officer Emily Ahouse recommended approval of the pavilion and of the other proposal that was tabled last month, a renovation of the campus gardens and creation of a breach in the historic wall that lines the sidewalk. While Baker Hunt proposed an 18-ft. opening in the wall to accommodate new signage and better access to the campus from the street, the board only approved a 5-ft. opening in the historic wall and also demanded an evaluation of so-called “heritage trees” before any are removed to make way for any new construction. Heritage trees were defined in the meeting as standing higher than the second floor of any historic structure.
 
As for the garden pavilion, only Rebecca Weber voted not to deny the application. UDRB members Jim Guthrie, Charles King, Chris Meyer, Sue Sampson, and Will Yokel voted to deny the application. King’s appointment to the UDRB had expired in early June, but City Solicitor Christian Dennery told The River City News that such appointments automatically extend until a reappointment or new appointment is formally made by the city commission. The UDRB has nine members, but rarely are all nine members present. Three were absent on Monday, including some that had listened to the presentation at last month’s meeting while Monday’s meeting also featured members that were not present at the previous meeting.
 
Between the two meetings, nearly six hours have been spent in public hearings on the Baker Hunt proposal.
 
Following a rejection, applicants have the opportunity to appeal to the city commission. Baker Hunt executive director Ray Kingsbury said that he and the architects would “huddle” before making a decision on how to proceed.
 
Since January, there have already been two appeals to the city commission. Columbia Sussex’s request to demolish the historic Bavarian Brewery Building was denied by the UDRB, a decision upheld upon appeal by the city commission. That case is now being weighed by Kenton County Circuit Judge Gregory Bartlett. Additionally, a proposed modern townhouse on Sanford Street in the Licking Riverside neighborhood was also rejected by the UDRB, a decision that was reversed by the city commission.
 
Correction: A previous version of this article identified Joe Klare as a board member at the Kentucky Preservation Association. That organization does not exist. Klare is a board member at Preservation Kentucky and the Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation. The article has been corrected to reflect and also to reflect that employees of the Catalytic Fund that spoke at Monday’s meeting were doing so in their own individual capacities and not on behalf of the Catalytic Fund.
 
Written by Michael Monks, editor & publisher