Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1: Level II

10-I-12-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Replacement/repair

Construct new wood-panelled vertical element on the west side. Soffit at recessed front to be clad with metal panels and underside of soffit to be clad in fiber cement board. Add vertical architectural extension on front façade at east end of stair landing for existing soffit overhang to die into. Install wood panelled banding and overhang on front and wrap around to the east side. Install new painted wood lightband boxes above banding. Add new ramp with brick foundation for the physically challenged on the west side. Metal ramp railing and the porch railing on the front porch to be of the same design and material (natural metal finish). Install new signage of individual letters to meet sign code on front façade and on new vertical element on west.

Site Info

one-story brick building with recessed storefront and entry stairs

STAFF FINDINGS:
1) The mid-twentieth-century building is noncontributing.

2) The proposed façade improvements are modern in appearance and do not attempt to create an earlier appearance for the building.

3) The proposed vertical element, banding, overhang and lighting add appropriately simple architectural detail to the building and do not detract from surrounding residential architecture.

4) The proposed horizontal wood panelling helps the building to relate more to the residential character of the nearby weatherboarded houses in the district.

5) Fiber cement board has been approved on new construction and new additions in the Fourth and Gill Neighborhood Historic District Overlay.

FOURTH AND GILL DESIGN GUIDELINES
NEW ADDITIONS
3. Design for the new work may be contemporary or may reference design motifs from the historic buildings.

7. New work should not appear to be as old as the historic building.

INFILL BUILDINGS (some guidelines apply to the proposed façade renovation)
New buildings should be contemporary in spirit. They should not be imitations of buildings of the past; rather they should respond to the present time, the environment, and the use for which they are intended. New buildings constructed in historic areas should, however, be compatible with older structures and sensitive to the patterns already in their environment. The materials that cover its exterior surface largely determine the appearance of a building. Similar materials develop a certain continuity and character. A building should not be visually incompatible or destroy historic relationships within the neighborhood. At the same time, new construction should not imitate historic style or period of architecture.