Historic Zoning Commission

Market Square H-1: Level III

3-N-13-HZ

Applicant Request

Level III. New construction of primary building(s) or deviation from guidelines

Installation of a temporaryclear vinyl enclosure under the awning to be occupied during colder months.

Site Info

Peter Kern Building. Three story, three bay brick building with similar facades. 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. The building housed the Cole, Inc. Pharmacy from 1935 through 1965, and the upper floors have served as a small boutique hotel since the 1980s. The building is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places as The Mall Building, and is included in the Market Square National Register Historic District as well.

1) The City fire marshall has outlined requirements for potential approval of café enclosures, which include the provision of sprinklering and alternative exits.

2) MSDA indicated their support as long as the enclosures "don't detract from" Market Square.

3) If enclosures are deemed by the HZC to not significantly detract from Market Square historic aesthetics, then regulation are needed for timeframes for length of installation, ratio of transparency to solid, and method of support attachments to the public sidewalk. The applicant has submitted a proposal agreed upon by MSDA for these regulations.

STAFF PROPOSED FINDINGS:
1) The vinyl outdoor cafe enclosure is obtrusive to viewing the storefront and lessens the degree of transparency intended to be preserved by Market Square Design Guidlelines 3 and 4 for storefronts.

2) If there are several enclosures installed in the square at any given time, staff believes they will detract from the aesthetics and historic appearance of the Market Square District environment as a whole.

3) The enclosures would cause the square to be somewhat less open physically and visually.

4) Staff believes that the experience of patrons and visitors will be diminished because they will not be able to enjoy a view of renovated/restored storefronts.

5) Pedestrians will not be able to view the interiors of restaurants easily as they walk by storefront windows.

6) Although the historic use of enclosures is not required for approval of a COA today, there is no documentation of their use that would lend support to their approval.

7) It appears that five of the buildings on Market Square could utilize secondary exits and therefore potentially install café enclosures and still meet exiting requirements.


MARKET SQUARE DESIGN GUIDELINES:
II. Existing Buildings
A. Storefront Design:
1. Contain the storefront to the height and width of the original opening designed for it.
2. Make the storefront as transparent as possible by using large glass areas and transoms.
3. The color and texture of storefront materials shall be simple and unobtrusive, whether they are wood,
cast iron or anodized aluminum.
4. Display windows shall be clear glass.