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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-07-21 _ r. . ~ n i. i ~ i. y. ~ ; i _ i HESTt)RIC °D13TRICTB -COMMI83TON Ths Iiistorio I}istricts Commission met-on Wednesday, July 21, 173, in the $Lrc~ Ritvni of the Cary Memorial Bui7.dng, Lexington.' Pr4sent were. Comte , missiona~'rs _~3,~,bur M. Jaquith, Chairman; Phl.3p .H:, Parsons,. 9ecretae George E. Graves.;,]?onald d.~Shaw.;.Georgia H. Wi],liamsi-aria Associate Commissioners' George W, Emery, Albert 'T. Pitt, and S.~ La'sarence Whipple. ' Mr.'J`sc}uth stated. that the Scottish Rite MaBOt2S were not going. to 13$ , present at this meeting.. Mr. O'Connell, the .Town Manager, called a meeting on Friday,. July .i6, 171, at ~rhich were p3~esent three memb,~rs of the Board ~y; of Selectmen; Donald E. Nickerson, Chairman of the Board of Appeals: Wilbur " , M. Jaquith, Chairman of the Historic Distrlets Commission;. AlaxBnder Zaleski.,. Town Planririg Director; Mr. O`Connell;. Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Newbury .of t2ie Scottish Rite Masons; and Hugh Shepley and one a#' his-associates to discuss the problem-involved in constn.rctng this aomplsx. ~ ~:r g ~ aj An in~f'or~fak.meetin was held at S:fl4 P.Zi. with George, ka'son, "Trustee of the Minute Man Park Realty Trust,, and Robert Neiley, Arahteet, of Bastille- Neley. Following considerable discu~sion;,:and study of the scale stwdy model.- presented by the:archtecb, the ~sting~was ad3ourned at 9~~8 P.M. An adjotiarned hearing was held at'SpfQ4 P,M. on the application of The. Cld Lexington Restaurant, Inc.: with `M&rk. MiMinos e3d Ralph. Ms;haris present. Three sets of scale drawings for the store l'ront.a'~ 1733 Massachusetts Ave- ' nue were pn~~ented;. Mr. Jaquith stated that the plans submitted at the prior hearing w®re nut possible because of the overhang., Cove li@;hting for the sign "Mario'a": to be in script letters is desired. The:hsaring was adW ,3ourned at i0t56 P.hT. . Mr. Jaquith stated that faur.hearir~s ;have .be@n, scheduled for August ii, 1971: signs for Clip & CuY~I;'l~emolition of the former Kath®rine Harrington ' property, addition-to Sheldon Corporation property, anti signs for Anthony`s,' " It was~move9, seconded, ahd urianimou9lyc VOTSI9 to issue a.`Certificate`to"' _ Petrie Realty 'lr4`ust, Roger A. Petxie, Trustee, with respect to.ahanges iri the arahteatural features .of the dwelling at 19 Bedford Street, which is within. `the Battle Green Distsis~. ~'articipgting in this-decision were Commissioners Wilbur M. Jaquith>Chairman;.Philip Parsons, 5eorstary; George P. Graves:; Donald J, Shax;~ and Georgia ii. Williams. It was moved by Mri"'Graves, seoonded by Mr. Shaw and unanimously VOTED not to approve the.lbgq for the Shun WilTiams,Co. sign. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously VQTRD to issue a Certificate to The Sherwrln-~dilT3ams Co, with respeot to the erection and:''displ:ay of three signs for the building at 17 Waltham Street, which ,is within the. Battle Green District. Partici- " patng in this decision were Commissioners Wilbur M. Jaquith, Chairman; Philip F, Parsons, Jecretary; George E.. Graves; Donald J. Shaw; and Georgia 1i. Williams. The meeting was ad3aurned at 1 M. ~ _ _ _ Philip B. Parsons . Secretary _ ' ' : Addenda to HISTORIC DISTRICTS COMMISSION Meeting on July 21, 1971 Res Minute Man Park Realty Trust An informal .meeting was held with George H, Matheson, Trustee of the Minute Man .Park Realty Trust, and Robert Neiley of Bastille-Neiley, Archi- tects. Mr, Neiley presented a scale model which is the study model that they are working on and is not the final model. The architects are trying varuious chimney designs, Bay windows for the second and third floors gave been added on the Mariam Street and Depot Square front sections of the building. The Mariam Street side has been changed to have one larger set- back break in the side wall, It is about 10' from the top of the mansard roof to the flat roof, There are three indentations on the Depot Square side with the narrowest closest to Massachusetts Avenue, There will be a 20' garage door with glass door so that drivers exiting from the. garage can see cars coming from Depot Square, The building will be 42' high, The dis- play windows and doors on the first floor are standard size with 8' brick piers all along the Avenue, An open courtyard is planned for the second and third floor apartments, There is open roof on each side to the indent~- tions on the Mariam Street and Depot Square sides, Mr, Jaquith stated that the Hisotorie Districts Commission has to bear in mind that this building is residential tie in from the store area of the Town, It was stated that the apartments should be readily rentable. Some or all of the apartments may have fireplaces and:/or balconies or patios onto the courtyard. The number of fireplaces will determine the number of chimneys, Mr, Emery asked if it would be possible to mansard the third floor and the architect said that it would be but that he did not favor such an approach, Mr. Matheson said that he is about to give up the project as the Plan- ning Board wants to talk to him or have the Design Advisory Commission talk with him, He stated that Mr, Neiley has worked night and day on this and he added that the mansard roof is impractical, less, Williams stated that she still prefers Georgetown type architecture to the 1971 architecture pro- posed, Mr, Neiley said that this is impossible and that his clients will not go along with that style. Both sides of the roof at the rear will be open, The building will be about 150' deep; set backs on the Depot Square side of 50', 40', 40', and 20', The Massachusetts Avenue side is straight while the Mariam Street and Depot Square sides are not straight, The Town Engineer has asked if the owners of the property would brick the sidewalks and Mr. Matheson said that he has told the Town Engineer that they will beautify the front part of the sidewalk to conform to the other sidewalks of the Center and will coordinate this with the rest of the Town's beauti- fication program, Mr, Matheson stated that this building will be no higher than the Library or the Depositor's Trust cupola, A doorway plus side lights would take a full space and they plan to have all the doors the same design, Each 8' area would be either a door or window, It has bean sug- gested that they drop the roof and have dormers for the third floor but this idea is not really acceptable, The mansard roof adds 10' to the height of the building, ~ -z t_~f i • Minute Man Park Realty Trust - Page 2 Mr, Jaquith stated that there are two basic viewpoints of this location; the businessmen view it as the terminus of the shopping area and the resi- dents of the town as the start of the shopping area, There is one apartment entrance at the rear of the 50' setba.ek on Meriam Street and one from. the garage. Mr, Neiley stated that the mansard roof was planned tos 1} make the Historic Districts Commission happyi 2) give clere- story windows on the third floor; 3) hide air conditioning units, vents, etc, The windows will be white wood casement type of single pane, Mr, Jaquith stated that he wished to leave the question of multipane windows open, Mr. Emery again raised the question of mansarding the third floor and Mr, Neiley stated that they would have to study this, Mr, Jaquith asked if they would bring in drawings showing this type of third floor window design, Mr, Whipple asked if there was any other type of roof that would give a clerestory and Mr, Neiley said that he could not think of any other as traditional as this, Mr, Whipple stated that he wished there was some way to penetrate facades to give less massiveness to the building, Mr, Jaquith stated that he wished there was something that would fit in better with the Battle Green and the surrounding buildings, This is to be a brick building with piers on the front. There will be granite or sandblast brick panels under the display windows and the same granite for lintels between the second anti third floors, Single pane windows are planned for the stores and recessed doorways for en- trances to apartments, Mrs, Williams asked if it would be possible for the front part to be brick with white chapboard type exterior for the rear two- thirds and Mr, Neiley said that they might consider this, Mr, Graves asked if could gable down front ends on Meriam Street and Depot Square or perhaps have double chimney effect or something similar, An hour following ad3ournment of this informal meeting, Robert Cataldo, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Walter C, O'Connell, Town Manager, appeared and discussed the plans for the building with the Commission, They stated that they had heard discouraging rumors about this building= they said they understood that the Design Advisory Commission is meeting next Monday night with George Matheson, Ernest Giroux, and A?r, Neiley and that certain groups, including this commission, want a prefabricated building. Mr, Jaquith stated that no one from the Historic Districts Commission had been invited to Monday's meeting, Mr, Jaquith said that he had called Mr, Matheson today and said that the Commission is concerned only with the exterior design of the building, Mr, Cataldo said that he would oppose precast building and hoped for a colonial style building, The Selectmen would oppose a poured concrete construction, Mr, Jaquith said that he would not prejudge this now, The Selectmen want the building expedited. Mr, Cataldo stated that he feels in looking at the model that they have treated the changed parts nicely but he is disappointed in the .single pane windows, He feels that they have made some changes in the right direction, Mr, Jaquith said that he was trying to get the height of the building brought down and he feels that the architect is beginning to see the Commission's viewpoint, Mr, O'Connell said that he heard tonight that there is too much unofficial discussion and that Mr, Matheson wonders how many groups are imrolved in the building, Mr, Cataldo stated that he feels the only hope to get a building is to work with them and to get something that can be accepted. Barbara Gilson, Clerk .f .T011IC DISTRICTS G$SZON ' The Historq Districts Cosgnisaibn met on WedxMsfi~; July 21, .1971,` in ' the Bird Roam.ot t~ Cary Msmos3;al Building, Le~dggien, Present., were Gvm missioa~?ra Wilbur M. Jaquith, Chairmant'Philip B. Parsons, Secretarys.fleorge E. flravesl' Donald J. Shad .Georgia H. Williams; and Aasooia?te Commi.saionera ' George W, ~ssry, Albert T. Pitt, end 9. Lax~renbe Whipple. Mr Jaquith stated that the 9aottiah Rite Masons xere not going to be present at .tMs meeting. ltr, '0"Conue].I, the ToKn Manage2', called a meting . on Friday, Jvly 16, 1971, at ~hi.ah were present three members of the Board of ~elect~esn; Donald E. Nickerson, Chairman of the Board of Appealsi Wilber M. Jaquith, Ch~irman'`of ttbe Historic Districts Commission; Alszander Zaleski, Tanrn Planning Director; l~r. O'Conne7li 1~, Maxwell and Mr. Newbury of the, Scottish Rite Maaonsi and Hugh Shepley arxi one of his assooatea to discuss. the problems involved in oonsturoting this complex. . An informal meeting was held at 8t00_PM. with George F~tatheson, Trustee. of the Mi.riute Zfa.n Park Realty Trust, and Robert Beileyi Architect, of Bastille• Neiley: Fo]:lowing considerable discussion and study of the scale stuc~q-m~ea: presented bT the architect, the cresting was`ad:~ourned at 9:58 P.Mr . An adjourned hearing eras held at 10s0© P,M. cn the application o~ The Old Lexi.ngton`R~staurant, Ina. with Mark Mimiros and 'Ralph Maharis present. Three sets of :scale draxings Yox the eto~s d'rorit at 1733 Massaahusetta Ave- Due were presented. ;bia•. Jaquith stated that the plans submitted at th+e prior hearing were not poasibl.e bea~tuse of the overhang. Cove lighting for the sign "Mario's" to be in eeript ~ettere is desired. Th® hearing eras ad- journed at 10:56 P,M., 'I Mr, Jaquith stated that four hearings have been scheduled for August 11, i97ir signs for :Clip ~ Cur1,,Dea~olitl.on of the former $athsrine Harrington proper~r, addition to Sheldon Corporation property, and signs t'or Anthorgr"s. Ib was moved, seconded, and unsnimonaly VOTED to issue a Certificate to, Petrie Realty Trust, :Roger A. Petrie, Trustee, with respect to oharigees in th® arohiteatural features of the dwelling at 19 Bedford Street, which is within the Battle Green District. Participating ixi this decision ware Commissioners W11bur M. Jaquith, Chairmani.Fhilip B. Parsons., 3ecretar9'; Qeorge E. Qrraves; Donald'J. Shaw.; and Georgia H. Williams. lt. `has 'moved. bg Mr, G~vea,', sa¢cnded b~q'!~',,, Shag sad. unanimously IftJT~ not to approve the Icgo Yor' the S1ierKi.n~t'illiarns Co., sign. Zt was mAved, seconded, and unanimously YOTED to issue a Certificate to The 3herwin-Williams Co. with ~speot `to th®, era±otie~! and di;aplay 'cf three signs for the bu3.l:di~ag at 17 Waltham Street,.whioh is within the Battle C~rsen.Distriet. Partioi- ' gating ire this deoiBion were Commissioners WilbRtr M. Jaquith, Chairmar#i.Phillp B. Paracnss;;Secretary; George E. Qraves; Dcnald.J. Shawl'and Georgia H•, Williams. The meeting was ad~ournsd at 11:7 P.M. Philip H. Parsons Secretary Addenda to HISTORIC DISTRICTS COMhSSSION Meeting on July 21, 1971 Rey The Supreme Council Scottish Rite of Free Masonry Mr, Jaquith stated that Mr, O'Connell, the Town Manager, had called a meeting on Friday, July 16,..,1971, at which were present three members of the Board of Selectmen; Donsld E. Nickerson,. Chairman of the Board of Ap- peals; Wilbur M, Jaquith, Chairman of the Historic Districts Commission; Alexander Zaleski, Town Planning Director; Mr, O'Connell; and for the appli- cant, Mr, Maxwell, Mr, Newbury, Mr, Shepley, and another member from the architectural firm, At~this meeting the problems confronting the Town with respect to this project were discsussed, Mr, Jaquith stated that he thinks the Scottish Rite Masons naw realize that their proposed building complex is in one of the most sensitive areas in Lexington, It was emphasized at the meeting that this spot is very important and is the entrance to Lexington Center from the East Lexington Village, Mr, Shepley called Mr, Jaquith yesterday and stated that they wished to withdraw from the informal meeting scheduled for this evening and also stated that they have been asked to review their plans, The architects have been asked if they could swubg the complex, par- ticularly the auditorium and change the driveway so as to alter the location of the complex. At this meeting the Masons were made aware of the Board of Appeals problem under the Town By-Laws, Mr, Emery said that he understood that the Town Counsel has not answered Mr, Nickerson's question as to whether or not the Zoning By-Laws will allow such a complex. The Masons started out considering this as separate from their headquarters building. Mr, Jaquith stated that it has been emphasized to them that the Historic Districts Commission cannot approve the design of a complex that can never be built, The Annual Meeting of the Scottish Rites is September 30th and they hope to have a decision at that time as to whether or not they might ever hope to buildin that location in Lexington, They will give the Com- mission an extension to September 30th, In the meantime they are trying to get other questions resolved. Mr, Emery asked if the Selectmen had been told that. if the Masons cannot demolish the dwelling and build the complex desired, they will probably sell the entire property which they own in the town, hir, Jaquith stated that he had talked with Mr, O'Connel,l about this and that the Town Manager stated that serious consideration would be given by the Town to purohase at least the land fr~ont~in~g on~Ma~ssaehusetts Avenue. Barbara Gilson Clerk