The group Preservation Maryland has started a petition to save and rehab the Bel-Loc Diner. Current plans have it being demolished and possibly turned into a Starbucks.
Councilman David Marks and Bel-Loc’s owner both say the building can’t be saved.
Preservation Maryland strongly supports the rehabilitation and reuse of the Bel-Loc Diner, a Parkville, Maryland landmark for over 50 years. We believe that Starbucks and Baltimore County officials can achieve the laudable goal of revitalization without the demolition of this important vestige of the recent past.
Fortunately, many examples of how to adaptively reuse a unique structure like the Bel-Loc Diner exist – including many overseen by the Starbucks Corporation. In Hollywood, California, Starbucks recently repurposed a classic 1930s Art Deco gas station into a fully functioning coffee house.
… Preservation Maryland Executive Director Nicholas Redding underscored his organization’s commitment to places like theBel-Loc Diner, “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Bel-Loc Diner could be adaptively reused. We can save the iconic structures and links to our past and still provide ample opportunities for revitalization and growth – often in the same structure.”
Get more details and see the petition here.
Many buildings with historic and/or landmark value have asbestos in them, and that can be remediated. It seems like an excuse to tear down the only interesting structure on that road and replace it with something bland and corporate. The county should rethink this plan of action.
This is good news. (The plan to paste the Bel-Loc sign on the McArchitecture of a Starbucks is b.s.) But what does the petition do? is there any teeth behind it?