Historic Zoning Commission

(Continued from 12/20/2018) Market Square H-1: Level II

12-E-18-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Window Replacement (Postponed from the December 20th HZC meeting)

Replacement of all windows except storefront, which are non-original c.1960s single-pane aluminum windows, with new insulated aluminum window system. Current windows are failing, are anodized bronze and square, mounted behind the rounded window opening tops. New windows will be square as well with blac frames, but will provide a more appropriate fit. The mullions and muntins will be mounted on the inside and outside, and will exhbit the proportions of the original windows.

Site Info

Peter D. Kern Building. Three-story, three-bay brick building with similar design on each corner façade. Bracketed ornamental metal cornice. Segmental arched replacement windows. Ornamental metal window hoods. Ornamental brick string course between second and third stories. Applied keystones above windows. c. 1980 storefront. Entrance to upper stories on south elevation (407 Union). The first recorded occupancy of the building was by Peter Kern Co. bakers and confectioners in 1876.

1) The building is a contributing building within the Market Square H-1 Overlay and the National Register Historic District.

2) The existing windows are single-pane aluminum and are not original and appear to have been installed during the 1960s.

3) The proposed windows will have a 2/2 configuration that will match the original windows.

4) The original window openings, which are segmentally-arched and have ornamental metal window hoods, are in tact. The replacement windows, which will have square tops, will be mounted behind the openings so that the original openings will still be visible.

5) The scale of this corner building is much larger than the scale of the commonly more narrow two-and-three story buildings in Market Square, rendering it with 68 upper-story windows as opposed to the more typically 3 upper-story windows

6) Metal can be an appropriate material for lthe large-scale buildings on Market Square when it is treated with an appropriate finish. The proposed finish of a dark bronze or anodized finish is appropriate for this building. This material will facilitate the ability to replace all 68 windows with those that are appropriately mulled and muntined, and therefore having a more appropriate appearnce than the existing windows.

7) The guidelines state that replacement windows shall match the size and shape of the original window openings. In this case, the original windows have been removed and the former replacement windows were installed in such a way that the original window opening is maintained and not obscured. Therefore, staff recommends waiving the guideline that the window itself is of the same shape as the original since it will appear to be, as mounted behind the original opening.