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Jan Marcason and Russell Welsh split in 1990.
Preservationists are howling at the proposal to demolish an old building on the Country Club Plaza and replace with it a new headquarters for the Polsinelli Shughart law firm.
But the project faces another potential complication, and it has nothing to do with architectural consistency. Russell Welsh, the chairman of Polsinelli Shughart, used to be married to Jan Marcason, a city councilwoman with a say in whether the project comes to completion.
Welsh and Marcason were divorced in 1990, after nearly 20 years of marriage. Welsh filed for the dissolution, which was not contested, according to court records.
Reached Monday afternoon, Welsh indicated that the he did not think his history with Marcason was going to be a stumbling block for Polsinelli's plan to build on the Plaza.
"I have a cordial relationship with her," Welsh said of Marcason. "I don't have a continuing personal relationship or financial relationship with her." He paused. "It's better now than it was 20 years ago, but I think that would be true with anybody who gets divorced."
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A law firm may replace what's known on the Plaza as the balcony building.
The Plaza sits in Marcason's council district, so she figures to play a prominent role in the discussion about Polsinelli's plan. Marcason lives in the Southmoreland neighborhood, which is not far from the site at 47th and Broadway Polsinelli has targeted.
Welsh says that he spoke to Marcason two or three weeks ago and let her know that Polsinelli was close to announcing a decision about its future. The firm employs 500 people at its current location on the Plaza.
Welsh says he happy to discuss Polsinelli's thinking with Marcason,
Beth Gottstein (who also represents the 4th) or anyone else on the council. In an e-mail, Marcason said that she was going to meet with Welsh on Tuesday morning.
Asked how she got along with Welsh, Marcason replied: "Very well." She declined to elaborate.
Said Welsh about the councilwoman: "In terms of my personal relationship, there's nothing there now that's really negative or really positive. But I obviously have known her for a long time."
Welsh spent time Monday defending Polsinelli's proposal,
appearing on Steve Kraske's show on KCUR-FM. The firm issued a
press release in which Welsh elaborated on why Polsinelli feels that taking over the
half-completed West Edge development is a bad idea.
Welsh also suggested that that the design of the eight-story building, which is getting unfavorable reviews, was going to be overhauled. In the press release, Welsh said Highwoods Properties, which owns the Plaza, has indicated that changes will be made to the "initial preliminary renderings."
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