Two weeks ago, Anna Merlan schlepped down to the Dallas Police & Fire Pension Fund's headquarters for a "technical update" on some of the solutions to the ever-simmering Museum Tower-Nasher dispute. The takeaway was that the louver system being peddled by the Nasher crowd as the only solution to the blinding, life-killing glare from the skyscraper wouldn't fly.
It took two weeks for the Museum Tower folks to say as much formally. Late this afternoon, they passed along a media statement and a summary of a feasibility study explaining why the louver thing is a non-starter.
For one, there's wind, which gusts mightily at 42 stories. There's no guarantee the louvers won't detach themselves from the building, turning into potentially deadly projectiles. It is left unsaid that Nasher patrons would undoubtedly suffer a bit of sunburn if it means they are safe from decapitation.
The study summary also points out that the stainless steel louvers also reflect sunlight, which is exactly what the system is designed to prevent; that retrofitting the building to carry the louvers could damage the current water-tight exterior and make the building nearly uninsurable; and, last but not least, the louvers attract birds and require maintenance such that the building will inevitably become an eyesore. Bottom line: "The louver solution is not acceptable to home buyers."
Then, at the end of the media statement, almost as a coda, Museum Tower officials go nuclear. "We are disappointed that the Nasher has repeatedly engaged in communications designed to harm Museum Tower and the Police, Firefighters, Retirees and their families' investment."
That's right. This isn't a case of the pension fund making a risky, speculative investment. Rather, the elites at the Nasher are waging an attack on the hard-working men and women who protect the city. Classy move.
This all comes on the heels of high-profile pleas for Museum Tower to go for louvers. That doesn't appear to be in the cards, but we all kind of assumed that, just as we can assume where the dispute will eventually wind up.
