Just because you're prepared for bad news, doesn't mean it will feel any better once it's delivered.
That could summarize Lisa Wannemacher's attitude Tuesday night while she accepted condolences and well wishes from friends and supporters of the Lens.
The locally based architect has been an unflagging champion for the design, long after other "hardcore" supporters (paging Anthony Sullivan) moved on with their lives.
But for Wannemacher, the Lens has been a significant part of her life, ever since the international jury selected the Michael Maltzan design in January of 2012 and her firm (Wannemacher Jensen Architects) teamed up with the L.A.-based architect on the plan.
"It's going to be very challenging to come together as a community now and figure out what comes next," she said Tuesday night while sipping on a glass of white wine at the Birchwood, whose fourth floor was occupied by Lens supporters.
"I think in the next couple of years the city of St. Petersburg is going to decommission the water treatment plant on the waterfront. What are we going to do? What's next for that piece of property? It could be very contentious and it could go to referendum, right? Because we've set a precedent for voting on our waterfront issues," she told CL.
You can count Wannemacher among those who think that the Lens rejection by St. Petersburg voters is going to leave a bad taste amongst architects throughout the country who might have second thoughts about submitting any proposals for what to do with the Pier.
"I do believe that. The city really missed an opportunity. A world-class architect, internationally known and respected, was fired tonight. You're not going to get a world-class architect to step into this city again and propose something that could potentially be voted down in the future," Wannemacher said.
She also referred to last Sunday's piece by Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano, who concluded:
Maybe the Lens doesn't do it for you. I get that. I've even said it myself.
Just be aware that you may like the alternative even less.
"A couple of years from now we might still be in this same spot where we are now," Wannemacher said. "With no Pier, no clear decision, no clear vision about how we're going to move forward. And it's really unfortunate that something so fantastic and monumental could divide this city so horribly, and I'm disappointed for the city and what this means to the citizens who did support this project."
During an earlier interview with WTSP's Reginald Roundtree on Tuesday night, Wannemacher admitted that it was hard not to take the vote personally.
"I'm disappointed and we put a lot of our emotion into this project, a lot of our passion and our feelings. Our heart and soul. It wasn't just time and money. It was emotion that we've been giving to this city and community for the last two years … ah, c’est la vie."
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2013.