Having suffered the never-ending saga of the Edgewater, we will admit — any sort of development in the downtown area is not to be approved willy-nilly. There are concerns of appropriateness, design, financing and size. And usually, the size of a building is inversely proportional to the happiness of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. And while we disagree on the Edgewater, we understand where the strife is coming from.

The same cannot be said for the development of a high-rise on Mendota Court. That’s probably why Plan Commission approved the building.

Yet, that doesn’t stop a few people from trotting out the historic district as a reason to do nothing. CNI member and Mansion Hill resident Gene Devitt told the Plan Commission he opposed the project because of the precedent it would set for the Mendota Court. A member of Beta Theta Phi also cited the historic character of the neighborhood, while an attorney for Korb real estate, which owns the Roundhouse, argued delivery would be compromised and it would add too much congestion to the area.

Remembering that the building has no parking and encourages the use of biking in a congested, vehicular nightmare, one important fact has been overlooked: Mendota Court, especially at night, is only historic in the sense that it’s old. There is nothing nostalgic about a poorly lit courtyard that’s more appropriate for drug deals than student life. There is nothing entertaining about the area, nothing vibrant about the buildings, and the serenity of a lakeside view is neutralized by the perpetual residence of an overflowing dumpster next to an old frat house covered in vines.

Langdon has a historic quality we don’t want to destroy. Mendota Court has a decaying quality that needs some infusion of life other than the animals that scavenge the alley for empty food containers. We find it not only hard to argue, but also frankly somewhat disingenuous to argue against a modern-looking eight story building when it’s still dwarfed by a hideous 13-story cylinder.

A new center for student residence helps to lower rent rates and encourages greater lighting, given the sheer amount of people living in the area. Shining a little more light on this residential backwater is much appreciated. We only hope Mendota Court’s approval sends a message to the anti-high rise crowd — if you’re going to make the case that your neighborhood should be preserved in its current state, you should first explain why it’s worth preserving.