New Albany is a state of mind … but whose? Since 2004, we’ve been observing the contemporary scene in this slowly awakening old river town. If it’s true that a pre-digital stopped clock is right twice a day, when will New Albany learn to tell time?
I know you're joking, but there is. Preservation guidelines specifically state that masonry that has not previously been painted should not be painted.
If Todd Coleman did indeed do this without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission as seems to be his usual ploy, I'd like to start raising funds for a group lawsuit. It would be his second for the same type of offense, with the first already in process over his handling of the Past Times bar property.
Enough is enough.
The Board of Public Works should also address his consistent, illegal placement of signage in public rights-of-way.
Mr Coleman has availed himself of economic incentives, UEZ tax credits, Facade grant, etc. if I’m not mistaken. Mr Coleman claims in public to be a millionaire real estate investor. I believe he may have even suggested his success as a businessman downtown made him a qualified candidate for Mayor. Yet to drive through downtown New Albany is to be assaulted by his dispportionate ownership of wonderful historic buildings! His “successful” business model appears to be classic urban slumlord. His products are inferior chinese “dumps” that low income people pay good money for because they don’t know what a rip-off it is. He keeps his overhead low because he rapes buildings he squats in to sell his formadehyde soaked chinese crap, duh. I mean really, to borrow from amy poehler, I realize you guys are soaked in another kind of preservative, but here again, seems no one in this town has the balls to tell the leeches to stop leeching. And really, why would Mr. Coleman bother when the Mayor’s office does the same thing to historic buildings. Poof - He’s law-suit proof!
Since I’m bashing downtown furniture merchants, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to tell everyone a secret. It took some arm-twisting, but I got Schmitt’s to admit this year they sold a locally made, locally sourced furniture product. You heard right. Furniture, hand-made up the road by the same family since the 1800’s, with Indiana hardwood!! Before they would sell me a piece, a walnut dresser, they made sure I understood they were “probably discontinuing the line, it’s just not what our customers want.” Humm, my family has been buying Schmitts furniture for like 5 generations, we may be their longest and best customers, but they told me “their customers” don’t want good solid handmade locally sourced furniture. I mean it felt like a slap to the face. oh, the furniture company is called Mobel, inc in Ferdinand. God I hope they’re still in business.
I usually refrain from commenting on any posts here at NA Confidential, actually I don't even like reading them because I usually don't agree with bluegill or Roger Baylor, but, I do need to provide a couple of points of clarification.
1. I am bluegill's brother-in-law and we've been good friends for a very long time. While I disagree with his point of view and approach on this matter I do respect him as an intellectual.
2. As far as Roger Baylor goes, I haven't spoken to him since he stole my seat at last years Barack Obama visit without any acknowledgment of my presence whatsoever. I refrain from drinking NABC beer, although I did do a recent Local Shoutout at the Public House this past week as a show of support for locally owned businesses. I think Roger is probably a little too big for his britches and works way too hard at using big words in his blog and writings that no one really gives a shit about.
3. I'm personal lifelong friends with Todd Coleman and an avid supporter of his business and entrepreneurship efforts.
4. I've had successful businesses in my 20 year career as an entrepreneur and I've had just as many failures.
5. If I've learned anything it's that criticism is cheap and overused in our local communities. Especially those with negative undertones.
6. I owned the building in question and sold it to Todd Coleman in the late 90's. I painted the bottom half of the building a light cream color. I never once had anyone complain about the paint, color, or process, especially as it stood next to a historic building that had been resurfaced with a stucco product.
7. I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says "Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it." I think this applies here with Todd Coleman and the buildings that he's purchased and operated out of for the past 10 years.
If you have been following the progression of downtown New Albany for any time you already know that it was a ghost town only 10-15 years ago. This is when Todd Coleman decided to get involved and operate his businesses in the heart of New Albany. He believed in it when very few others did, he did more than open a business and pay rent to a landlord, he invested, borrowed and built his business all the while investing in real estate and contributing to the economic vitality of downtown.
Now, after he's done this and we have new businesses establishing you guys want to bash the hell out of him. Come on fellas. Put your money where your mouth is and post on this blog the commercial real estate properties that you own, the improvements that you've made to your commercial real estate investments and how you've built your business based on building and property ownership...once you do that than maybe your argument will have a little more validity.
8. Last and certainly not least, I'll remain a good brother in law to Jeff Gillenwater (bluegill), a good customer of Todd Coleman's Classic Furniture and Sleepworld and will continue my boycott of anything Roger Baylor.
What does your personal dislike of Roger have to do with any of this?
As for no one really giving a sh*t, I think the hit counter over the last 5 years says otherwise.
Finally, the law is the law. Even Todd Coleman has to follow it, which means appearing before the Board of Public Works and Historic Preservation Commission and getting approval for certain actions if the law so requires.
Mr Coleman sells overpriced chinese furniture to low-income people which I personally believe is a “poverty tax”. For the same money you can purchase a similar, but higher-quality product where 100% of the purchase price stays in Indiana, which builds wealth locally in about 50 ways. Then I’d like to note again Mr Coleman’s abject disrespect for the towns historic value and rules and aspirations. A common asset. I realize the city is impotent as far as historic protection, but Mr Coleman is about as flagrant as ghetto-biz gets. You’ll have to trust me on this Mr Crum, I’ve traveled and there is such a thing as a ghetto business model, you might not have heard of it, but I bet your brother-in-law can fill you in. “Coleman enterprises” is a “classic” case study. My casual observation is Mr Coleman is a real estate speculator who just wants to “flip” the town, but the market never recovers downtown, cause property owners like Mr Coleman run down their buildings. So in the meantime the business model is too sell as much crap with as little overhead as you can, till you can cash out, now further debased, historic buildings.
That said, if the lower part of the building was already painted, as you say, Todd would still need a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the preservation commission for painting, but the commission would have no say over the paint color (unless it was black).
The reason for this type of COA, as has been posted here numerous times before, is to make sure the method of painting won't damage the building or the owner isn't proposing to do something like painting original masonry. It's a quick and painless process.
Mr. Crum, when you owned the building the preservation ordinance was not in effect, which is why you would not have had to apply for a COA. Todd knows better.
Apologies, but I've been busy all day and just now have the chance to respond to Lincoln's posting.
Oddly, not once today was I ejected from Wick's, but I digress.
On Sunday, I intend to provide Lincoln the forum he seeks by elevating his comments to the marquee in the form of a separate, stand-alone posting. In such a manner, it becomes searchable in a way that mere comments are not.
So ... please refrain from further comments until I have time to do this. For now, I'm off to bed.
I know you're joking, but there is. Preservation guidelines specifically state that masonry that has not previously been painted should not be painted.
ReplyDeleteIf Todd Coleman did indeed do this without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission as seems to be his usual ploy, I'd like to start raising funds for a group lawsuit. It would be his second for the same type of offense, with the first already in process over his handling of the Past Times bar property.
Enough is enough.
The Board of Public Works should also address his consistent, illegal placement of signage in public rights-of-way.
It would be nice to think that gentle persuasion and negotiation might bring him around, but the boorishness seems only to escalate.
ReplyDeleteIt would also be nice to think the paint will come off without damaging the building any further. That's not usually the case, either.
ReplyDeletedon't get me started.
ReplyDeleteIf they knew anything about branding they would paint their building hot pink to match the signs.
ReplyDeleteMr Coleman has availed himself of economic incentives, UEZ tax credits, Facade grant, etc. if I’m not mistaken.
ReplyDeleteMr Coleman claims in public to be a millionaire real estate investor.
I believe he may have even suggested his success as a businessman downtown made him a qualified candidate for Mayor.
Yet to drive through downtown New Albany is to be assaulted by his dispportionate ownership of wonderful historic buildings! His “successful” business model appears to be classic urban slumlord. His products are inferior chinese “dumps” that low income people pay good money for because they don’t know what a rip-off it is. He keeps his overhead low because he rapes buildings he squats in to sell his formadehyde soaked chinese crap, duh.
I mean really, to borrow from amy poehler, I realize you guys are soaked in another kind of preservative, but here again, seems no one in this town has the balls to tell the leeches to stop leeching. And really, why would Mr. Coleman bother when the Mayor’s office does the same thing to historic buildings. Poof - He’s law-suit proof!
Since I’m bashing downtown furniture merchants, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to tell everyone a secret. It took some arm-twisting, but I got Schmitt’s to admit this year they sold a locally made, locally sourced furniture product. You heard right. Furniture, hand-made up the road by the same family since the 1800’s, with Indiana hardwood!! Before they would sell me a piece, a walnut dresser, they made sure I understood they were “probably discontinuing the line, it’s just not what our customers want.” Humm, my family has been buying Schmitts furniture for like 5 generations, we may be their longest and best customers, but they told me “their customers” don’t want good solid handmade locally sourced furniture. I mean it felt like a slap to the face. oh, the furniture company is called Mobel, inc in Ferdinand. God I hope they’re still in business.
ReplyDeleteI usually refrain from commenting on any posts here at NA Confidential, actually I don't even like reading them because I usually don't agree with bluegill or Roger Baylor, but, I do need to provide a couple of points of clarification.
ReplyDelete1. I am bluegill's brother-in-law and we've been good friends for a very long time. While I disagree with his point of view and approach on this matter I do respect him as an intellectual.
2. As far as Roger Baylor goes, I haven't spoken to him since he stole my seat at last years Barack Obama visit without any acknowledgment of my presence whatsoever. I refrain from drinking NABC beer, although I did do a recent Local Shoutout at the Public House this past week as a show of support for locally owned businesses. I think Roger is probably a little too big for his britches and works way too hard at using big words in his blog and writings that no one really gives a shit about.
3. I'm personal lifelong friends with Todd Coleman and an avid supporter of his business and entrepreneurship efforts.
4. I've had successful businesses in my 20 year career as an entrepreneur and I've had just as many failures.
5. If I've learned anything it's that criticism is cheap and overused in our local communities. Especially those with negative undertones.
6. I owned the building in question and sold it to Todd Coleman in the late 90's. I painted the bottom half of the building a light cream color. I never once had anyone complain about the paint, color, or process, especially as it stood next to a historic building that had been resurfaced with a stucco product.
7. I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says "Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it." I think this applies here with Todd Coleman and the buildings that he's purchased and operated out of for the past 10 years.
If you have been following the progression of downtown New Albany for any time you already know that it was a ghost town only 10-15 years ago. This is when Todd Coleman decided to get involved and operate his businesses in the heart of New Albany. He believed in it when very few others did, he did more than open a business and pay rent to a landlord, he invested, borrowed and built his business all the while investing in real estate and contributing to the economic vitality of downtown.
Now, after he's done this and we have new businesses establishing you guys want to bash the hell out of him. Come on fellas. Put your money where your mouth is and post on this blog the commercial real estate properties that you own, the improvements that you've made to your commercial real estate investments and how you've built your business based on building and property ownership...once you do that than maybe your argument will have a little more validity.
8. Last and certainly not least, I'll remain a good brother in law to Jeff Gillenwater (bluegill), a good customer of Todd Coleman's Classic Furniture and Sleepworld and will continue my boycott of anything Roger Baylor.
Lincoln Crum
As far as Roger Baylor goes...
ReplyDeleteWhat does your personal dislike of Roger have to do with any of this?
As for no one really giving a sh*t, I think the hit counter over the last 5 years says otherwise.
Finally, the law is the law. Even Todd Coleman has to follow it, which means appearing before the Board of Public Works and Historic Preservation Commission and getting approval for certain actions if the law so requires.
Mr Coleman sells overpriced chinese furniture to low-income people which I personally believe is a “poverty tax”. For the same money you can purchase a similar, but higher-quality product where 100% of the purchase price stays in Indiana, which builds wealth locally in about 50 ways. Then I’d like to note again Mr Coleman’s abject disrespect for the towns historic value and rules and aspirations. A common asset. I realize the city is impotent as far as historic protection, but Mr Coleman is about as flagrant as ghetto-biz gets. You’ll have to trust me on this Mr Crum, I’ve traveled and there is such a thing as a ghetto business model, you might not have heard of it, but I bet your brother-in-law can fill you in. “Coleman enterprises” is a “classic” case study. My casual observation is Mr Coleman is a real estate speculator who just wants to “flip” the town, but the market never recovers downtown, cause property owners like Mr Coleman run down their buildings. So in the meantime the business model is too sell as much crap with as little overhead as you can, till you can cash out, now further debased, historic buildings.
ReplyDeleteThat said, if the lower part of the building was already painted, as you say, Todd would still need a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the preservation commission for painting, but the commission would have no say over the paint color (unless it was black).
ReplyDeleteThe reason for this type of COA, as has been posted here numerous times before, is to make sure the method of painting won't damage the building or the owner isn't proposing to do something like painting original masonry. It's a quick and painless process.
Mr. Crum, when you owned the building the preservation ordinance was not in effect, which is why you would not have had to apply for a COA. Todd knows better.
Apologies, but I've been busy all day and just now have the chance to respond to Lincoln's posting.
ReplyDeleteOddly, not once today was I ejected from Wick's, but I digress.
On Sunday, I intend to provide Lincoln the forum he seeks by elevating his comments to the marquee in the form of a separate, stand-alone posting. In such a manner, it becomes searchable in a way that mere comments are not.
So ... please refrain from further comments until I have time to do this. For now, I'm off to bed.
No need in designating a separate post for me Roger. Don't waste your time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the other comments made about my post.
Lincoln Crum