Preservation Louisville To File Petitions On Iron Quarter Buildings

by Gabe BullardApplications will be filed Thursday morning to have the so-called Iron Quarter buildings in downtown Louisville declared local landmarks.Preservation Lousiville has been gathering signatures for the petition portion of the applications since late April. That's when the building's owner, Todd Blue first filed a request to demolish the buildings to make room for a new development. Blue contends that the row of buildings is too unsafe to save, but he intends to preserve the facades.Preservation Louisville executive director Marianne Zickuhr says she wanted to have the petitions filed before the demolition request was considered."We wanted to be as quick as possible in our response because we wanted to have the petitions done, signed and in hand way before either deadline, that way our point was being made quite clearly."The Waterfront Development Corporation will review Blue's application to demolish the buildings, while the Landmarks Commission will consider Preservation Louisville's request. A spokesperson for the mayor says while the WDC is not connected to the Landmarks Commission, it's unlikely the demolition permit would be approved while the landmark status is in question.