Brodhead Armory Redevelopment

[hybridy]

I f*cking hate scrappers...

In October 2003 the flag was taken down and the keys were turned over to the City. That Thanksgiving weekend a hard freeze burst water pipes in the building. The building instantly went from a perfectly maintained building into a water-soaked disaster.Scrappers, vandals and graffiti ‘artists’have added to the rapid and irreversible deterioration of some of the City’s best depression-era treasures.

Between 2005 and 2013 scrappers entered the building and removed essential structural members of the southern trusses in the north block.Following a major snow fall in 2014, the weight of the snow caused several of the compromised trusses to fail and the roof collapsed. The structure is a safety hazard.

On the west facade scrappers removed the metal panels of an historic plaque honoring Edwin Denby, a sailor, soldier, member of Congress and Secretary of the Navy. The scar left with the removal of the bas relief casting diminishes the appearance of the building.

This looks to be a great project that preserves and repairs the high-bay portion. I see concerns with the 'scale' of the addition as it mostly infills the entirety of the building lot. There doesn't appear to be any attempt to capture/retain storm water on site, and I imagine DWSD may take issue with that. Happy to see the riverfront activated with a plaza and pier. Hope that can come to fruition and that the murals can be saved.