Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods (ATN)
April 6, 2021
Dear Tallahassee – Leon County Planning Commissioners
RE: Agenda Item 2: First and Only Public Hearing on Ordinance 21-Z-12: Proposed Addition of Property to the Local Register of Historic Places and Amendment of the Official Zoning Map to Change the Zoning Classification from the Central Core (CC) Zoning District to the Central Core (CC) Zoning District with Historic Preservation Overlay (HPO)
ATN strongly supports the addition of the Macomb Property to the Local Register of Historic Places. Economy Drugs and several small businesses are located on this property. The Architectural Review Board recommends the historic preservation overlay.
This property is one of the most important locations in Frenchtown. It’s seen Tallahassee’s civil rights efforts up close. Many Tallahassee civil rights leaders conducted planning meetings here to organize demonstrations and protests. The series of buildings also housed some of the African American offices of the NAACP, Urban League, and many other Community based organizations, as well as Doctor’s Offices.
The Roberts family has owned the property since the 1950s. Of extreme import, is that Dr. Roberts came to Tallahassee from Howard University to found FAMU’s School of Pharmacy. He encouraged many to pursue their careers in Pharmacy. That list includes his own daughter, Alexis, and Dr. Henry Lewis, a former interim president of FAMU. Mrs. Roberts, a pharmacist herself, has kept the property and has operated Economy Drugs for decades.
These structures carry with them the history of the Frenchtown Community, and are among the last such structures to do so
Please vote to recommend the addition of the Macomb Property to the Local Register of Historical Places and to amend the zoning map to support this designation. Doing so promises to be a wonderful “recall to life” for these buildings and the wonderful legacy they represent.
Sincerely,
Carrie Litherland, ATN Chairperson
Sean Nyberg, ATN Co-chair