Talk Shop Fridays: Green Building vs. NIMFY?

Although the construction controversy at 123 W. 15th St. in Manhattan touches on so many property rights issues, I’m going to narrow the scope for this week’s Talk Shop Friday post. Valhalla, as the owners the Rath Family has dubbed the building, sits (or is slated to sit) 74 feet high at the intersection of Chelsea and Greenwich Village. The surrounding neighborhood is historic and mostly aesthetically uniform– we’re talking lots of ‘quaint’ Brownstones here. Valhalla at once extravagant and frugal in its design– “an avant-garde take on postmodern impressionist design” incorporating the newest and most efficient green building technologies (e.g. geothermal wells) that will make the building relatively self-sufficient and free to heat. Neighbors of Valhalla are in an uproar, boisterously evoking that “not in my front yard” mentality. Folks, this is a difficult issue. Where do we draw the line between maintaining the historical visual appeal of a neighborhood and innovating our way into the future with sometimes extravagant architectural designs that incorporate energy-efficient green building technologies? Is there a way to do both? All other issues aside (financial, prior tenant eviction, etc.), what do you think?

Background Reading: NYT Article