Historic Districts Review Board designates Shelby Street footbridge contributing and approves stone-faced replacement plan

The Historic Districts Review Board voted in July 2025 to designate the Shelby Street footbridge as a contributing structure to the downtown and East Side historic district and to approve a conditional demolition and replacement plan that requires the new structure to closely match the existing bridge’s appearance.

Staff recommended the contributing designation after noting the footbridge, built in 1968, now meets the 50-year threshold for local review and contributes to the parkway’s character. Lanny, the board’s staff presenter, told members that "staff recommends contributing status for the Shelby Street footbridge" and that the bridge "helps to establish and maintain the character of the downtown and East Side historic District." The board adopted that recommendation in a roll-call vote.

The board also considered a separate application asking to demolish the existing bridge and a reconstruction application with two design options. An engineering evaluation from Wilson and Company, summarized in the staff report, concluded the bridge is "structurally deficient with its excessive damage and functionally obsolete" and recommended demolition and replacement. Lanny read the evaluation aloud: "it can be determined that the bridge is both structurally deficient with its excessive damage and…