Agree in part: new construction in a historic district always involves
compromises.  Disagree in part: I think the developer's original
intention would usually be worse than the compromise that eventually
resulted.  I don't subscribe to the Howard Roark concept of architecture.
Buildings, especially in an urban context, have to meet the needs of
multiple constituencies.

In any case, there are two different shades of the word "compromise" being
used here.  ALH means "compromised" in the sense of "tainted or ruined",
as in "a woman whose reputation is compromised" or "a compromised security
system."  You mean "compromise" in the sense of "a deal between factions
where each gets part of what they want."