10 Reasons Why Bulldozing Glenridge Hall would be Tragic

Preservationists: Withhold your expletives, or this could get NSFW really fast. The City of Sandy Springs, in an instance of painful shortsightedness, has issued demolition permits for Glenridge Hall — one of the city's few historic buildings, and a magnificent one at that. Creative Loafing reports that, despite the property's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, Sandy Springs has no provisions in place for its protection. Residential developer Ashton Woods hopes to be rid of the 86-year-old, stately mansion to build a new neighborhood on these 47 acres of forested land. In the article, Georgia Trust President and CEO Mark McDonald sums the situation up quite well, as "probably the most unnecessary demolition I've ever seen." The building could be demolished any time starting next week, which is a good reason to get all David Letterman right now.

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Top 10 Reasons Why Bulldozing Glenridge Hall would be Tragic

10. There's a Facebook page devoted to saving the building, and if you want to know how to respectfully contact the developer and voice your opinions, that might be a good place to look.

9. Sandy Springs is a booming city that generally covets density and transit access, at least lately, but it's not like there isn't plenty of land without incredible, historic houses on it to be developed.

8. Doesn't 47 acres leave plenty of room for cohabitation of new homes and a historic mansion? That's nearly three times the size of Historic Fourth Ward Park. Either retained as a private residence, or converted to a club hall for the presumably ritzy neighborhood, the mansion could be a unique centerpiece to the new development.

7. The stewards of history for the city, Heritage Sandy Springs, called the home a "historic gem" in the Creative Loafing piece, while the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation had named the site to its 2015 "Places of Peril" list. People care about this place.

6. As Dianna Edwards wrote in a guest column for the Saporta Report, a lot of rich local history is tied to the house, and to lose it would be a great misfortune and a step toward erasing a story that shouldn't be forgotten.

5. According to Creative Loafing, a 20-percent federal tax credit, 25-percent state tax credit and a property tax freeze is available for anyone who rehabs the building. Free money …

4. The home is in great shape, having been maintained as a private residence and an events facility in recent years. With little work, it could make an excellent mansion for some super-rich Sandy Springsian.

3. While it's hard to tabulate an exact number of properties in Sandy Springs on the National Register of Historic Places — the listings tend to predate the city and would therefore be categorized as "Atlanta" — there are no more than a handful, and could be as few as two. Losing Glenridge would be a major blow to the limited historic fabric of Sandy Springs.

2. Mercedes-Benz will be constructing their 250,000-square-foot headquarters on 12 acres next door, part of the original tract of land purchased by Ashton Woods. Daimler-Benz paid for the restoration of the Margaret Mitchell House back before the Olympics, according to the Saporta Report. You'd think as a nice PR gesture they might step in, so they don't look really bad being associated with a development like this.

1. And finally, the main reason to save the building is because there are more than 12,000 square feet of this:

· Holding out for magic: hoping Glenridge Hall will be preserved [Saporta Report]
· Glenridge Hall faces demolition in the near future [Creative Loafing]