In conventional development, the first questions usually concern the building or the land: What can we build? How can we make the best use of land and capital? How long will delivery take? In historic districts, the starting point should be entirely different: What must not be lost? What needs to be brought back to life? Only then should we ask what can be added. This is not a semantic distinction. It changes the entire logic of development. A historic district is neither a collection of separat
