FOTS response to WTMD withdrawal from Senator RFP process

The following is the official Friends of The Senator statement that was sent out to members of the media yesterday, including the Baltimore Sun:

The Friends of The Senator (FOTS) group and historic theatre preservation organizations nationwide are aligned in their stance that the BDC’s Senator RFP process has been fundamentally flawed from its inception, and the situation must be rectified.

Baltimore Heritage, Preservation Maryland, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Theatre Historical Society of America, among others, have written to Mayor Rawlings-Blake, citing concern over the BDC’s failure to engage professional historic theatre redevelopment experts to play an active role in the advance planning and guidance of the Senator RFP redevelopment process.

Towson University’s withdrawal is sudden, but not entirely unexpected. With the BDC’s controversial Senator RFP process in a shambles, it’s time to heed the rising call for Baltimore City to apply proven national standards established by historic theatre redevelopment experts to determine an optimal future for Baltimore’s renowned and irreplaceable Senator Theatre.

Thomas Harris
President, FOTS

I would like to note that Chris Kaltenbach of the Sun, who was sent the whole statement, neglected to report that Friends of The Senator has been joined in our call for historic theatre redevelopment and film exhibition experts to guide the process by prestigious preservation organizations the Theatre Historical Society of America, Baltimore Heritage, Preservation Maryland, and The National Trust for Historic Preservation. When I commented on the Sun site last night to note the omission, the Sun pulled down the comment, along with all the other comments made yesterday, most of which were lamenting the loss of Towson University/WTMD's bid. Biased reporting or April Fool's joke on the Sun's part?