Historical Tales

“We are not in the historic-preservation business. That’s not our forte.“

–Developer John Hoffman.

“It’s like throwing a Picasso in the fire.“

–Alison King, a historic-preservation activist and founder of Modern Phoenix.

In a nutshell:   A development group (called 8081 Meridian) recently bought the David Wright House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his son) in Phoenix, AZ.  Their plan was to cut the property’s lot in half — to demolish the Wright House — in order to build a couple of luxury homes.  Preservationists intervened.  The developers agreed to a 60-day window during which another buyer can purchase the entire property from them (that 60 days is half over!).  The developers have also stated they would consider a splitting of the lot so that they could still build a couple of houses while selling the David Wright House on a much smaller lot.  And the third option?  Continue with the demolition.  Two days ago, the developers posted this statement on their website:  “Should a buyer not be found in that time frame, we will proceed with our development site plan that has been approved by the City.”  See this video from a local news station for an overview:  (I’ve added more pics of the house below the video).

Photos of the David Wright House:

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