BZA to rule on B & B.

The New Albany Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7th, and on the agenda there is this item.

Docket B-20-15: Melissa Meier requests a Land Use Variance to permit a bed and breakfast in the R-3, Multi-Family (medium density) district, at 600 East Main Street.

It's a familiar address.

Wait -- how'd THAT get in there? Here's the actual view.

With the previous owner having moved, this would appear to indicate new possibilities for guests at the former Admiral Bickell Inn, and that's something to applaud. Best of luck to the new owner.

And that other house?

I don't know. Maybe it's the smoking lounge.

Airbnb and the "sharing economy."

I had no idea the air mattresses were to be taken literally. We used Airbnb in 2010, several friends have done so since, and there have been good experiences all around. Perhaps the next step for the 1117 East Spring Street Neighborhood Association is to get on the list?

Welcome to the ‘Sharing Economy’, by Thomas L. Friedman (NYT)

IT all started with air mattresses ...

... On July 12, (Brian) Chesky told me, “Tonight we have 140,000 people around the world staying in Airbnb rooms. Hilton has around 600,000 rooms. We will get up to 200,000 people per night by peak this summer.”

One Southern Indiana cuts ribbon, cheese at Pepin gala.

Of course, the Pepin House's re-emergence from the catastrophic Rey Espinoza Error (is Sister Hicks still with us, or has she joined Kim Il Sung?) is cause for satisfaction. Kudos to Ron Smith for his investment, and welcome.

It's just too bad that One Southern Indiana got dragged into it. What a profound buzz kill. Here's the way Morris's sentence (see below) should have been written:

“This is something we can all be proud of and celebrate,” said Wendy Dant Chesser, president and CEO of One Southern Indiana, who promptly issued Smith a membership invoice for $30,000 to finance River Ridge fluffery.

You may call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

Hail, Pepin!

New Albany’s restored crown jewel: Pepin House open for business, by Chris Morris (News and Tribune)

An important piece of New Albany’s history has been given new life.

The Pepin Mansion, located at 1003 E. Main St., was constructed in 1851 and is an example of Italian Villa architecture. After sitting dormant and in disrepair for years, Louisville businessman Ron Smith had an idea after touring the home. It’s taken five years, but that idea resulted in the historic property being transformed into a bed and breakfast, retreat center, and wedding and reception hall ...

 ... The mansion has been opened since March, but Thursday afternoon One Southern Indiana held a ribbon cutting and open house at the facility ...

 ... Those in attendance Thursday were impressed with the final result.

“This is something we can all be proud of and celebrate,” said Wendy Dant Chesser, president and CEO of One Southern Indiana.

Neither steroids nor proverbs for the Board of Zoning Appeals.

I've been wondering if the News and 'Bune's renewed emphasis on religious hokum, as with columnist Tom May recently increased appearances in print, reflects the otherwise silent publisher's Bible verse-infused Twitter feed.

Perhaps these twin irrelevancies are purely coincidental.

Meanwhile, the Courier-Journal's Grace Schneider somehow manages to avoid sports references as she provides dispassionate, factual coverage of the New Albany Board of Zoning Appeals, including new use for the Pepin House on Main Street and board member Bledsoe's fear of proliferating child care services, which are not unlike meth labs, at least when too many appear on one's own private one-way street, which utterly lacks the golf course necessary to provide proper instruction to repressed urban children.

Yes, and perennial ReDestruction lawyer Krafty John is preparing a lawsuit to defend clients ignorant of the PUD law, but this occurs at every meeting, doesn't it?

Zoning panel OKs B&B on Mansion Row in New Albany; Mansion Row site could host events

... Scott Wood, the plan commission director, told the zoning board that while Main Street has gradually shifted from single-family homes to apartments and a few bed and breakfasts, the upside to Smith’s plan is that a significant historical structure has been preserved ...

Seems reasonable, but does Sister Hicks still own it?

Victor Pepin House (1851-52)
1003 East Main Street
Italianate
An example of an Italianate Tuscan Villa, this home was built in 1851-52 based on a pattern-book design by noted Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan. Its most striking feature is its center tower. A beautifully painted ceiling adorns the large
drawing room. Prominent citizen, Victor Pepin purchased this lot in 1851 and had the house built immediately. Mr. Pepin was the cashier of the New Albany Branch of the State Bank of Indiana, located at East Main and Bank Streets in the downtown. In 1863, John P. Cromie, a New Albany coal and lake ice dealer, bought the structure. Later, the house became home to the August Barth family and remained for over 65 years. Mr. Barth was proprietor of the August Barth Tannery, located at East 10th and Water Streets, just one block south from his house.

(text from here)