2019-12-12-CPC-NEEDS.rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Affect a site within a Lexington Historic District, on a State or National Historic Register, or eligible for placement on such registers, or on the Lexington Historical Commission's Cultural Resources Survey (the "Inventory"); • Demonstrate a specific public benefit; and/or • Provide permanent protection for maintaining a historic resource. RECOMMENDATIONS These goals can be addressed, first, through the comprehensive identification of the historic resources that are at risk in Lexington due to lack of funding, insensitive alterations or deferred maintenance, or other lack of stewardship. Second, the Town needs to provide the incentives to promote successful and sensitive rehabilitation/restoration projects, in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation (Department of Interior Regulations, 36 CFR 67) and the adaptive reuse of historic buildings that have outlived their original purposes. Third, Lexington should be aware of the full complement of preservation techniques available to it, including the creation of conservation overlay districts to protect areas where the substantial oversight and control of a historic district is not warranted or feasible, and the purchase of preservation easements from owners of historic houses that would equalize their economic value so that they could be sold as houses rather than teardown opportunities. Special attention should be paid to threatened classes of resources, such as Lexington's 17'h and 18'h century homes; Mid- Century Modern homes, streetscapes and and landscapes, including the Lexington Center Streetscape;post-World War II buildings; historic schools; and unique examples of Lexingon's commercial and residential architecture, especially those reflecting a high level of architectural and historical significance, with accompanying design integrity, intact settings or landscapes, and associations with notable individuals and/or architects. Specific projects might include the following: • Acquisition of historic properties—buildings, landscapes, sites, structures or preservation easements. CPA funds could help bridge the economic gap to make possible the acquisition and adaptation of older, historic homes for affordable housing or assisted living as an alternative to teardown and redevelopment. Lexington CPA funding contributed to the acquisition and reuse of the M. H. Merriam and Co. Building and Foreman's House on Oakland Street, a former factory that was converted into the Douglas House, a residence for survivors of brain injuries; and the Tower Estate on Marrett Road, formerly the headquarters of the Scottish Rite Masons and now rehabilitated and repurposed as the Town's multigenerational Community Center. • Bricks and mortar repairs and rehabilitation, including preparation of plans and specifications for construction, architectural/engineering assessments, and modifications for accessibility, and HVAC updates, to historic resources, including modifications for the purpose of making such historic resources accessible and/or functional for their intended use, all completed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Examples of past projects include the restoration of the exterior of the 15