Residents packed the city’s development review committee meeting Monday morning as they expressed frustration with a plan to demolish the historic Wahnish Cigar Factory in Tallahassee’s All Saints neighborhood and replace it with an apartment complex.
The plan would put a 4 story, 70-unit apartment complex in the spot where an old cigar factory, built during the shade tobacco boom, now stands.
The building, built in 1907 is on the local and national registers of historic places. It was also the old home of the Cow Haus music venue. It’s also in the middle of the same neighborhood that’s seen several new multi-story student style housing developments in recent years.
Tallahassee Historical Society President Bob Holladay spoke at the meeting. Holiday wants the historic building to be worked into the development plans.
“Properties like these can enrich our city just as they do in Ybor City, Key West, and St. Augustine, but only when our vision of the future accommodates them,” he said. “This impulse, while profitable in the short term, further erodes the educational, historical, and cultural value of visiting the state capital. “
But the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation's Architectural Review Board says that’s not feasible.
The city’s development review committee is still reviewing pieces of the plan, like potential easements. Another DRC meeting is set for September. The Architectural Review Board will also hold another meeting at an unannounced date where developers will present mitigation or commemoration plans for the site.
