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2025-05-28 Meeting MinutesDRB May 28, 2025 Page 1 of 9 City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Board or Committee: Design Review Board, Regular Meeting Date and Time: Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 6:00 pm Meeting Location: Virtual Zoom Meeting DRB Members Present: Chair Paul Durand, Elizabeth Murray, Marc Perras, and Kate Martin DRB Members Absent: Leanne Leftwich, Catherine Miller, Sarah Tarbet Others Present: Stephanie Owens, Senior Planner Recorder: Christine Petryszyn The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm. Roll call was taken. Storefront Improvement Program 1. 88 Congress Street: Salem Tipico Restaurant sign refacing Nina Lissarrague, Small Business Program Manager at the North Shore CDC, was present to discuss the proposal: • Ms. Owens noted that this is a program that has not been used in over seven years. The program provides commercial property owners and business owners with financial assistance and design assistance for the DRB for the renovation of commercial building facades. • She added that the goal of the program is to strengthen Salem’s neighborhood business districts and its downtown by enhancing the exterior of commercial properties and preserving the character of neighborhood streetscapes. • Though the building is located in the Point Neighborhood, outside of the downtown and any entrance corridor, the funding for the project under the storefront improvement program falls under DRB purview. • The applicant is seeking the DRB’s and the public’s comments for the application. The funding source is a Community Development Block Grant under U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. • Tipico is a restaurant on Congress Street whose sign is very faded. The proposed new sign would create new, more saturated color panels that could be used with the same fixture. • Mr. Perras inquired about phone numbers and credit card companies being permitted on a sign. Ms. Owens noted that the code allows some trademarks as long as they do not take up more than 25% of the sign. This does not apply to A-frames or other temporary signage. She will have to report back on the inclusion of a phone number, though the DRB typically discourages it. • The proposed sign is advertising delivery. The code may only reflect requirements in the redevelopment district. • The business has been in place since 2017. • There were no other comments from the board, though they do want to look at phone number question. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 2 of 9 There were no comments from the public. • There were no further comments from the Board. Signs in the Urban Renewal Area 1. 122 Washington Street: Ugly Mug Diner Ken McTague was present to discuss the proposal: • The proposal includes a 31x17 inch rigid sign panel which will be mounted to the existing stanchion. • Images were shared. • It will have an internal frame. • There is no existing sign. Currently the only signs are window graphics. • The window graphics do not compete with the graphic coverage. • The owner does not want to get rid of the window graphics. Removing the outline on the window graphics may be enough to get the windows in compliance as they are only 4% over the allowance. • The sign is two pieces held together with hardware. The text is on a separate piece. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the Ugly Mug blade sign as shown in the rendering with the caveat that the scale of the mug signage on the window be reduced by eliminating the outline and just leaving the text. Seconded by: Murray. Mr. Durand added that requirements for the blade sign to hang a distance of no less than 8 inches was not appropriate as the sign is in the downtown core, which is highly pedestrian-oriented. The application must adhere to the surety bond requirements found in the City of Salem Code of Ordinances Section 4-47. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 2. 11 Church Street: Not Ya Mama’s Vegan Cafe Ken McTague was present to discuss the proposal: • Mr. McTague reported that the green façade has been removed and replaced with a black façade. • Images were shared. • Text will be centered, and not hit the bottom of the sign. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Ms. Martin made a motion to approve the sign. Seconded by: Perras. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 3. 318 Derby Street: Pumpkin & Gray DRB May 28, 2025 Page 3 of 9 Ken McTague was present to discuss the proposal: • Images of the proposed sign were shared. • Mr. McTague is proposing to use the existing brackets on what is known as the laundry building. Every building on this stretch of facades has the same existing brackets. • Members of the board felt the white text, even with the gray drop shadow, made the sign hard to read and the star symbol is large. • It was suggested to add an outline stroke in gray to increase readability. • Mr. McTague said his client wants to stay with these graphics. • The gray outline could be a requirement, and the reduction in the size of the star could be a recommendation to increase legibility. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the sign with the additional faint gray outline to make the text more legible. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 4. 24 New Derby Street U-4: Miramar Printmakers Sam Atoui and Adrian Rodriquez, of Miramar Printmakers, were present to discuss the proposal: • They are located on Artist’s Row and are required to put up a sign. • The design would be simple, with their logo carved into a wood sign and amended to the existing bracket structure. • The applicant is not worried about readability, and it has a little depth. • The applicant said they would evaluate shifting the octopus to the left a bit or on its axis to see if would reduce some of the negative space. • While the text looks small on the image shared, Ms. Atoui said it is readable in person. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the sign looking a little closer at the octopus’ positioning. Mr. Durand added the standard conditions. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 5. 24 New Derby Street U-2: North Shore Glass School Michael Hall, one of the owners, was present to discuss the proposal: • Images of the design and a rendering were shared. • It will be printed on aluminum with a dye bond material. It will be 36 inches wide and has a polyethylene core running through the center. It will hang on an existing chain and post. • The chains are 28 inches across so additional width was needed to make it hang properly. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the sign as presented. Durand added the standard conditions. Seconded by: Murray. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 4 of 9 Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 6. 161 Essex Street: Brick Box Mia Alcover, Associate Creative Director at the Peabody Essex Museum, was present to discuss the proposal: • The building is 135 Essex Street and will be open from August 2025 through January 2026 for a pop-up shop focused on the theme of building bricks. • There will be Legos, merchandise, building blocks, etc. • The proposed sign would be on both sides of that corner; one on Essex Street and one facing Washington Street. • The width of the building on Essex Street is 41 feet and on Washinton Street its 69 feet. • The sign will be 3.6 by 8 feet. It will be temporary. • It will be printed on dye bond on aluminum and text will be painted. It will have a three- dimensional aspect to it with circles made of foam. • Renderings and mounting profile were shared. • The circles will protrude 7/16”, which is also the width of the sign. It will be mounted with an angle bracket on the mortar. • The 3D circles will come out two inches from the frame. • The sign will protrude a little from the wall. • There were two submissions because each submission only allows for three signs and they have four total. • The signs on the doors will repeat the same text in white and will be under the 20% limit of that door. • Both the brackets and signs will be removed in January. • Mr. Perras recommended that the brackets be painted black. • Renderings of the vinyl signs were shared. • One entryway is wider than the other, and they are visually very close. One sign is perfectly centered, and the other is off to the side. • The sign may not be proportional and could possibly return the wall to give more of a Lego image. • Ms. Murray suggested to return the sign in the full inch to hide the bracket. A tiny opening in the back would allow for drainage. It would be more refined and reinforces the Lego imagery. • Ms. Alcover will work with the sign fabricator to evaluate their options. • It was suggested that the sign be moved up to address the symmetry issue. It will also be able to be viewed further down Essex Street. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the sign assuming the applicant can increase the appearance of the depth by returning the panels one inch on the sides and bottom, and painting any hardware black and the standard conditions. Seconded by: Murray. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 5 of 9 Projects Outside of the Urban Renewal Area 1. 17 Canal Street: Entrance Corridor – Design review for proposed AC Hotel by Marriott. Scott Grover, representing Canal Area LLC, Ken McClure and Ken Stelle, representing D’Annunzio Group, Andrew Pike, and David Sherborne, Opechee Construction were present to discuss the project: • Mr. Grover noted that the project is before the DRB because it is located with the Entrance Corridor Overlay District and requires a recommendation from the DRB before the Planning Board can act. This is the applicant’s third meeting with the DRB. • The applicant plans to present revised architectural drawings and initial signage plans. • And updated Project Timeline was shared, including their next scheduled meeting in front of the Planning Board on June 26th. • The building will include 132 guestrooms, six stories with amenities that include food and beverage service open to guests and the public, along with fitness rooms, meeting rooms, a market area and two levels of parking which are valet only. • Mr. Sherborne summarized the updates which include a darker brick, less beige on the precast color masonry on the lower portions of the building, and incorporating more brick detailing into the building. It was requested that corbeling at the top of the building be lower, adjustments to the fenestration treatment on the parking levels to address any headlight issues at night, and comments from the Planning Board about the lower masonry. • He said they are looking at addressing pedestrian circulation and improving the landscape buffer. A sidewalk along Pond Street is going to be required. • Aerials, renderings, and site plans were shared showing the changes. • Details from the Eagle Iron Foundry were incorporated. • The material palette was shared and was provided to Ms. Owens and uses a full blend range to darken the overall palette. • The sign plan is compliant with zoning requirements. Images of the proposed signs were shared. • The freestanding sign plan includes one sign at 27.5 sf at 10 ft tall. • The building sign plan includes a total sign area of 85 sf, and includes 1 entry placard, 1 canopy channel letters, two wall signs, and two directional signs. • The applicant’s mechanical engineer elevated the exhaust requirements, which are a little over 500 CFM. Exhaust louvres and outside air intake will be utilized. • Kitchen and laundry will below the space on the first floor. • The aeroscraft at the bottom will have rusticated relief, but it is not modeled. Mr. Perras would prefer it to be flat and use the Aeroscraft to push it in. He also commented that windows for the parking garage be treated differently. Mr. Sherborne noted that was in response to lifting the height to minimize vehicular movement and maintain proportional height. Mr. Perras felt they should be treated differently. • Ms. Murray suggested using light boxes at the parking garage windows so that the lighting could be controlled. • Mr. Durand suggested using a spandrel panel at the bottom. • Mr. Pike suggested blackout shades in garage would be on motion sensors. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 6 of 9 • Ms. Murray expressed concern about security. She also said frosting the windows would be more cost-efficient than using roller shades. • Mr. Sherborne they really wanted the garage windows to look like guest rooms. He said he will look at different treatment options. • The Board was in agreement with Mr. Perras on variations of the recessed stones. Mr. Sherborne said they can bring some images to share at the next meeting. • Ms. Martin noted that the design has come very far in a positive way since they first saw the plans. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to continue with tonight’s comments. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. Mr. Grover noted that they are hoping to receive the recommendation from the DRB at their June 25th meeting. Projects in the Urban Renewal Area 1. 252 Bridge Street: Discussion of The Exchange’s wall color – Request to withdraw without prejudice 2. 301 Essex Street: Schematic Design Review – Proposed amendment to the previously approved project that seeks to expand the square footage of the approved commercial space to the entire basement and ground floor, which will require additional permitting via the Zoning Board of Appeals for the removal of the proposed ground floor parking spaces. Dan Ricciarelli, Seger Architects, Mike Becker and Carissa Vitas were present to discuss the proposal: • Mr. Ricciarelli noted that there are some small program changes that were made to the base and some amendments to the upper levels. • Mr. Ricciarelli shared images including the elevations. • The existing building is all retail now, and would go down to about 20-25% retail. Upper floors would be a total of 20 units in various configurations. • Mr. Becker noted that the primary change is the first-floor level from a parking garage to a retail space. He said this was largely dictated by the significant change in interest rates and construction costs. • A 100-year-old maple floor was discovered and they would like to reclaim that. • The ceiling height has been raised to be more appropriate for commercial space. • The elevator won’t be projecting out of the building as a head house as it is now located in the center of the building. • There will also be an increase to the number of units to 30. • The building has been raised four feet allowing for more flexibility to the storefront. • Some of the units will have decks much smaller than before to accommodate the HVAC on the rooftop. Some of the windows were flipped. • Some of the historic openings to the building have been brought back. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 7 of 9 • The alley space can used for an outdoor café. • A new glass storefront with a contemporary arch canopy is proposed to help activate Summer St. • Mr. Perras suggested a more glazed, wrapped corner. The applicant said he was not opposed to the idea. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve with the caveat that the Summer Street storefront next to the Salem Inn be looked at as looking more like the Essex and Summer St. corner than the entry. Seconded by: Murray. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 3. 288 Derby Street: Small Project Review – Review of proposal to modify the rear façade by adding faux storefronts with display windows. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to continue. Seconded by: Murray. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 4. 120 Washington Street: Extension of Premise for Outdoor Dining for Blue Fez – Review of design of outdoor dining area. Nassar Belghiti was present to discuss the proposal: • The applicant is looking to have six tables with four chairs each for outdoor dining, for a total pace of less 20x8 feet. • The tables are not accessible. The applicant said he would replace one to be accessible. • The applicant said he would like to replace the divider. Mr. Perras recommended a fence enclosure and that everything must be painted black. He will work to mirror what was approved at Ginger. • Ms. Murray confirmed that all the planters and posts will be removed. No lattice should be included. • Ms. Owens said the board could approve with the discussed caveats. Mr. Durand said it must match or what is identical to the next door restaurant. Anything that needs to be different must come back before the board. The meeting was opened for public comment. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve the layout with one table being replaced with an ADA accessible table and approval of new dining area surround to match Ginger. If the applicant cannot match what was done at Ginger, they need to come back before the board. Seconded by: Murray. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 5. 283R Derby Street: Extension of Premise for Outdoor Dining for Notch Brewery & Tap Room – Review of proposed outdoor dining area on the South River Harborwalk. DRB May 28, 2025 Page 8 of 9 Chris Lohring was present to discuss the proposal: • The applicant reported that some changes needed to be made to accommodate ADA requirements and so that wheelchair users could sit across from one another. • Photographs were shared. • The yellow bollards and rope will be replaced. There will be a lower chain so that cane users can make use of it for wayfinding. • Bollards and chains will be black that they will be fabricated by the owner. Images of what was proposed were shared. • There will be nine bollards and chains will be attached and screwed down to the boardwalk. • The applicant had a three-year lease with the City to use the Harborwalk, but have since been asked to use the City’s sidewalk approval plan, which is why they are in front of the DRB. • They will be seasonally permanent. They will be seven feet of the fence. There will be six feet clearance on the Harborwalk side which has been cleared by the City. There were no comments from the public. VOTE: Mr. Perras made a motion to approve as presented. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. New / Old Business 1. Approval of Minutes: a. March 26, 2025 Mr. Perras made a motion to approve. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. b. April 23, 2025 Mr. Perras made a motion to approve. Seconded by: Martin. Roll Call: Martin, Murray, Perras, and Durand. 4-0 in favor. 2. Staff updates, if any • Ms. Owens reminded the DRB that there is a co-posted meeting with the SRA on June 11th via Zoom for an update on Lapping Park. • Ms. Owens will share the Anthem Contract explanation with the Board. • She reminded the Board about the behind-the-scenes tour of the Old Town Hall restoration on June 5th from 4-5pm. RSVPs for that event can be made to Julie Berry. Upcoming Meetings 1. SRA/DRB Co-posted: June 11th 2. DRB: June 25th DRB May 28, 2025 Page 9 of 9 Adjournment VOTE: Mr. Perras: Motion to adjourn. Seconded by: Martin. All in favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:30PM. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 39 §23B and City Ordinance Sections 2-028 through 2-2033