As a history person I welcome the idea that sometimes things need to be preserved even if it results in lower financial opportunities nowadays for redeveloping or random people who seemingly end up on a now more valuable property by pure chance. I would argue that in my middle aged life most people who bought into recently decided historical areas are not doing it for profit because it is a kinda generally accepted but not officially declared historical area. A lot of historical housing is much more costly than modern housing due to things like heating/cooling efficiency.

We can’t save it all. We can barely truly save 1%. But there comes a point where the physical cost to maintain and the value to the community interact. I live next to a 1950s era strip mall. I am surprised someone hasn’t came in and realized the land/traffic value isn’t comparable to bulldozing it down and building the new thing. Maintenance is a PITA due to age and it’s really…not special.

But time has a way of telling you deep down what was special. What might mean more for the long term and should be developed as a historical area, a point where people seek out, a place the community could point towards and be proud of because we have this unique pocket neighborhood with historical value. Galloway was it’s own thing on the map long before SGF ever expanded.

You can later decide it’s not worth it, but you can never bring back the past. This isn’t just NIMBY but people realizing apartments could be built anywhere. I bet apartments would gross more where the ATT store is at BF and LP.