No one can say this any better...thank you Russ!

To those that think the political and financial shenanigans to promote this project are acceptable:

Some of us have long histories of promoting historic preservation, investing substantial amounts of time money and effort to the cause. Too often preservation can be stultifying and dogmatic, but when executed thoughtfully is about protecting culturally important achitectural fabric and reinforcing a community's sense of place. Projects like the beach casino are sold to the public on that premise, but artificial recreation for the sake of skirting zone and code requirements is a far cry from "saving" a landmark. Knowledgeable advocates of historic redevelopment aren't upset that this is finally being built... we're disturbed by the misinformation used to convince the public that will pay for it, and a profound lack of integrity with nearly every aspect of it's execution.