The owners of a Phoenix home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his son David have sent out mailers to as many as 15,000 Arcadia-area households defending plans to host events, field trips and concerts at the property.
Attorney Zach Rawling’s David Wright House LLC bought the property in 2012, saving the historic home from possible demolition. Rawling wants to rehabilitate the 2,200-square-foot concrete home and obtain historic designations. He also wants to build an underground archive, bookstore, cafe and events building at the property just south of Camelback Mountain.
That has stirred opposition from some Arcadia neighbors worried about traffic, noise and Rawling’s recent purchases of two adjacent properties to the David Wright House.
The flyer outlines Rawling’s plans to seek a special use permit from the city of Phoenix as well as historic designations that will protect the home that was built in 1952. It was one of the last homes designed by Wright, who died in 1959.
Restoration work will begin this summer and last three years, according to the mailer.
It also contends revenue from events at property will be put back into the Wright House property and a nonprofit foundation and will not be a revenue stream for Rawling and his family.
“The family will never profit financially from the activities of the Foundation,” the mailer reads.
It also explains that the property will host small music, arts and theatrical events at the Arcadia home. Frank Lloyd Wright and his third wife Olgivanna, frequently held small musical and other events at Taliesin West in Scottsdale. Some of those events featured A-list celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, business executives and Wright’s architectural students.
Rawling, a longtime fan of the famed architect, also wants to host field trips and architecture students at the property.
He has leased parking at a neighboring church off Camelback Road and says events won’t impact neighbors in the wealthy Arcadia area.
Chip Scutari, a spokesman for the David and Gladys Wright House Foundation, said the mailer aims to educate neighbors about the plans and shows the group “is open to constructive dialogue with anyone who’s interested in learning about the details of the project.”
The Wright House group also has hired Chuck Coughlin and Doug Cole’s HighGround Public Affairs to help with lobbying and communications around the plans.
“We are taking a two-prong approach: promoting neighborhood communication while working very hard on the preservation and restoration plans. The bottom line is helping preserve the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright,” Scutari said.
The mailer also features comments from four Arcadia residents who support the Wright group’s plans.
“The incredible vision of those saving this national treasure should be applauded and supported,” Karen Goldblatt said in the mailer.
But there are still plenty of vocal critics of the plans to host events and concerts in a residential area dotted with expensive homes.
“It’s not about restoration,” said neighbor Christie Wolfswinkel, a member of one Arizona’s better-known business families. “It’s about commercialization and a concert venue.”
Another notable neighbor, Apollo Education Group / University of Phoenix Chairman Peter Sperling, also opposes Rawling’s plans. He’s hired prominent Scottsdale attorney Jordan Rose to represent him in the matter.
Mike Sunnucks writes about residential and commercial real estate, government, law, sports business and workplace issues.
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio is also worried about some of the plans for the Wright House.
”Restoration is welcome. The commercialization they talk about in this latest mailer is not, and sets a terrible precedent for every neighborhood in Phoenix,” DiCiccio said.
Another skeptical neighbor, John Garofono, thinks hosting events at the property goes against Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision.
“To think that his philosophy would have led him to support the massive disruption of a long-standing residential community seems to go against everything you ever hear and read about the architect,” he said.
The two sides will battle it out more when the Wright House group applies for city permits and approvals.
Source: Phoenix Business Journal
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