Huntsville West Earns Mayor’s “This Place Matters” Award
Published on April 25, 2017
Huntsville West Coworking received a “This Place Matters” award from Mayor Tommy Battle for its creative adaptive reuse of an old school building on 9th Avenue in the Lowe Mill district.
The award is the first of four awards Mayor Battle will present in May as part of Huntsville Preservation Month. See Preservation Proclamation
“We’re joining a national campaign to recognize preservation in our community and the role it plays in placemaking, re-urbanism and economic development,” said Mayor Battle. “Huntsville West Coworking is a center of innovation and entrepreneurism, and they’ve translated that spirit into giving new life to an old school building.”
Mayor Battle presented the first “This Place Matters Award to the building’s owner, Brandon Kruse, during a ceremony at Huntsville West Coworking.
“Three or so years ago, I fell in love with the economics of the building,” said Kruse. “Now I have fallen in love with the building. I see it transforming. It’s been mind-blowing.”
Jessica White, the City’s historic preservationist, says Huntsville is smart to build on the assets we have in older buildings. “They give us a sense of identity, history, and authenticity,” said White.
Preservation Month Activities
To celebrate Huntsville’s historic places and older buildings during Preservation Month , the City is leading a number of activities to recognize places that matter. City Council members will recognize re-urbanism projects in their districts by presenting the owners with “This Place Matters” decals to place on their buildings.
The public is encouraged to participate by snapping a photo of their favorite historic building and posting it to their social media platform with the hashtag #ThisPlaceMattersHsv. To start things off, White and preservationists will host a tweetchat May 1.
Ultimately, the City believes the mix of old and new buildings helps achieve a more prosperous, sustainable, and healthier future. And, that gives Huntsville a competitive economic edge.
“We’ve talked a lot through our BIG Picture master planning efforts about reinvesting in our City’s core,” said Mayor Battle. “It makes economic sense and it makes our community more livable. We’ll have shorter commute times, the ability to walk or bike to where you want to go, and we’ll be reinventing and sustaining our existing neighborhoods for decades to come.”
