Loading...
2004-05-26 DRB MinutesDRB Minutes May 26, 2004 Page 1 of 5 DESIGN REVIEW BOARD MEETING MINUTES MAY 26, 2004 A regular meeting of the Salem Design Review Board (DRB) was held in the third floor conference room at the City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 at 6:00pm. Members David Jaquith and Paul Durand were present. Tania Hartford, Economic Development Planner and Valerie Gingrich, Clerk, were also present. Minutes Minutes from the May 5, 2004 meeting were reviewed and approved. Project list 266 Essex Street (Barking Cat)—Review of proposed signage at the new storefront at 266 Essex Street (former Bowman’s Building). Ms. Hartford introduced the applicant, Jeff McKee, who described the proposal, which includes the installation of a 42” x 42” sign constructed of carved wood relief graphics, painted and hung on a decorative wrought iron bracket. The sign will be lit with white spotlights on the building aimed directly at the sign. In addition, the owner is proposing attaching vinyl letters to the windows with the telephone number, logo and website for the business. Mr. Durand asked if the store would be doing grooming. Mr. McKee explained that there would be no grooming and instead he would be selling pet food, supplies and gifts. Mr. Durand stated that the hanging sign should be curved. Mr. McKee stated that it would be curved. Mr. McKee explained that he will be using a wrought iron bracket, but he does not have the spec at this time. He stated that it would be similar to Elixir’s bracket and it would be moderately heavy to hold the carved sign. He added that he may need to add another bracket to keep the sign from swinging. Mr. McKee stated that the logo application on the door will be vinyl and the letters at the bottom of the window will be six-inch letters. Mr. Durand stated that the logo could be improved by making the backing clear and thus making it more minimal. Mr. McKee agreed to make the backing clear. Mr. Durand stated that the text looks better when it is closer together. Mr. Durand stated that the board will need to review the spec for the halogen spotlights prior to recommending approval. Mr. Durand asked about the size of the lettering on the window. Mr. McKee stated that the letters are six-inch letters. Mr. Durand asked for the size of the “Store Hours” signage to be placed on the door, because the picture was not proportional. DRB Minutes May 26, 2004 Page 2 of 5 Mr. Jaquith stated that the space between lines of text should be half the size of the text. The members agreed that the applicant should apply 1 ½ inch letters for the days and hours with ¾” space between; “Store Hours” and the address should be two inch letters. Ms. Hartford asked for the logo size. Mr. McKee stated that it will be 12”x 12”. Mr. Jaquith asked the size of the text of the phone number. Mr. McKee stated that it is proposed as six-inch letters. Mr. McKee stated that the text on the window has not been finalized as far as content. Mr. Jaquith stated that the board will need to review the text when it is finalized. Mr. Durand stated that the text of the phone number should be smaller, perhaps three-inch letters.. Mr. McKee asked if the logo font is ok. Mr. Durand stated that the font is good and it is good that the logo font is different from the other text. Ms. Hartford stated that she will need a spec for the bracket, scroll, and lights. Mr. McKee inquired about putting a bench and trash can on the sidewalk in front of his store. Ms. Hartford stated that she would give him more information about the bench and trashcan when they talk next. Mr. McKee asked what would happen if he does not close on the property by the SRA meeting on June 9th. Ms. Hartford stated that in that case, they will need a letter from the building owner regarding the proposed project. 177 Essex Street (Samantha’s)—Review of proposed signage at 177 Essex Street. Ms. Hartford stated that the proposed wall sign is currently up and that Mike Lutrzykowski, a friend of the owner, is here on her behalf. Ms. Hartford explained that the sign is a black 12’ x 1’2” wall sign with plastic letters painted gold. The lettering is 10” on the upper case letter and 7” on the lower case letter. The members agreed that the sign is fine and recommended approval as submitted. 103 Washington Street (Sacred & Folk)—Review of the proposed additional signage at 103 Washington Street. Ms. Hartford introduced the applicant, Stephanie Hobart, who described her proposal to erect a hanging sign. The proposal includes the installation of a 20” x 20” wood sign, painted dark green (matching the existing wall sign), with gold leaf lettering. The sign will be hung on a hand-carved, wood horse that is 36”L x 20”H x 3”D and weighs approximately 15 pounds. The sign will be hung in the same location as the previous owners sign and it will be anchored and stabilized. Mr. Durand asked if the bracket would be through bolted. Ms Hobart stated that it would and that she had talked to the building owner regarding the process. She stated that there will be two angle pieces attached to the horse bracket to add stability. DRB Minutes May 26, 2004 Page 3 of 5 Mr. Durand stated that the side attachments should be very thin black wrought iron rods with a small screw eye into the horse. Mr. Durand suggested that the sign maker, Ken McTague, submit a detail of the rods and bracket for his review. Ms. Hobart asked if the rods should be green. Mr. Jaquith stated that the rods should be black. Ms. Hartford informed that applicant of the submission deadline and requirements for the SRA meeting and stated that the sign maker should provide a detail for Mr. Durand. Ms. Hobart stated that she wants to do lighting as well, but it will have to be under a different submission. Mr. Jaquith suggested using the same lights as Elixir. 51-71 Lafayette Street—Review of the proposed exterior changes to the SRA Approved Final Design Plans for the project at 51-71 Lafayette Street (Derby Lofts). Mr. Durand recused himself. Ms. Hartford stated that Chris Greene could not make it to the meeting, but he may be submitting comments. Ms. Hartford introduced the applicants, Mr. Mark Meche and Mr. Kelly Foster, both of Winter Street Architects. Mr. Meche explained the proposed changes of the exterior materials from hardipanel and petrarch to a full stucco system. Mr. Jaquith asked if the metal lathe would be protected. Mr. Meche stated that it will be galvanized. He also stated that the windows are Pella Architectural series windows. Mr. Jaquith stated that the windows look fine. Mr. Jaquith asked about the locations of the different colors. Mr. Foster explained that the darker color is on the upper portion of the building and the lighter color is on the lower portion. Mr. Jaquith commented that it is good that the brick is broken up. Mr. Meche stated that the brick match is pretty good. Mr. Jaquith asked the name of the color. Mr. Foster stated that it is called “Elderidge Gray.” Mr. Jaquith stated that the proposal looks great and recommended approval as submitted. Mr. Jaquith asked about the awnings shown on the plans. Mr. Mec he stated that they will be coming back to the board when they have determined who the tenants will be and know what exactly the awnings and signage will be. 209 Essex Street—Review of the Schematic Design Plans for the redevelopment of the facade at 209 Essex Street (Newmark Building). Ms. Hartford stated that Mr. Greene will provide comments if applicable. Ms Hartford stated that the proposal includes the renovation of the Essex Street front of the building, primarily at the storefront level. The upper floors will require some brick and stonework DRB Minutes May 26, 2004 Page 4 of 5 and the windows will be replaced with arched-top double-hung windows to match historical photos. The project will also include window replacement on the remaining parts of the building. Mr. Meche stated that he and Mr. Durand have renovated every other piece of their building and this is the last one. He stated that they will be providing approximately 3,000 square feet of retail in the front of the building. Mr. Meche explained that historically there has been a band of glass along the upper storefront and they would like to go back to that. Mr. Meche stated that this is the schematic design for renovating the very tall storefront and introduced Mr. Foster to go over the proposal. Mr. Foster explained the proposal, which includes the glass band on the top of the storefront, which would be flush. He explained that the columns of the building were carried down to the storefront and they are looking to have one or two tenants in the space. Mr. Jaquith asked about the material at the elevator location. Mr. Foster stated that they pushed the facade out at the elevator to make it flush and hide the elevator. Mr. Foster stated that they do not know what the material will be at this stage. Mr. Jaquith stated that the schematic design looks great and recommended approval as submitted. 50 Palmer Street—Review of the Schematic Design Plans for the redevelopment of the Keefe’s lot at 50 Palmer Street into 12 units of affordable housing. Ms. Hartford explained that the project is not in the Urban Renewal Area, but the project did receive funding from the City’s Community Development Block Grant. Ms. Hartford explained that as part of the funding agreement, the applicant was required to go through the design review process. She stated that the project is currently at the schematic design level and introduced the design team representing the Salem Harbor Community Development Corporation (CDC). Mr. Jim Haskell, Executive Director of the CDC, stated that the site is where the former Keefe’s Restaurant was. He explained that the vision for development is for affordable housing. Mr. Haskell explained that they started with a proposal with eight owner/rental units and now they have a proposal with only six owner/rental units with three condos in the middle. He explained that the owner will live on the second and third floors and the first floor will be a two-bedroom rental unit for the owner. Ms. Nash commented that they have been working with the community on the design of the project and there is a definite need for it. Mr. Luna went over the details of the design. He stated that that one of the goals of the design is to reinforce the street along Congress and Palmer. He stated that another design feature that is found in the surrounding neighborhood is a strong cornice line. DRB Minutes May 26, 2004 Page 5 of 5 Mr. Luna stated that through the six-month process, the community indicated that having two bedroom rental units is more important that having more yard space, so they design decks on the second floor for the owners. Mr. Luna stated that the construction will be wood frame with a hardipanel façade. He stated that the details will be worked out prior to the final design stage. Mr. Jaquith asked if the center bay windows will be one window or two. Mr. Luna stated that it will be two, but he would like to do one if he can. Mr. Jaquith stated that he is fine with the hardipanel. Mr. Luna stated that it will be a four color scheme with two body colors, a trim color and an accent color. He added that there will be some brick (the stairs). Mr. Durand stated that the color scheme is good. Mr. Luna stated that they will be going to the Zoning Board of Appeals for variances for the number of parking spaces and the parking space size. Mr. Jaquith stated that it is a good project. Mr. Durand stated that it looks like a lot of glass in proportion to solid wall. Mr. Durand suggested moving the vestibule out to make the back of the building less tunnel-like. Mr. Luna stated that they made one change to the plan since they submitted it for review. Mr. Luna explained that they added one parking space to the site. Ms. Hartford asked the applicants to submit the revised plan. Mr. Luna added that there will be full basements in each unit for the owner to access. The members agreed that the schematic design is good and approved the schematic design as submitted. Mr. Haskell stated that it may be a while before they are back with the final design due to funding approvals that are needed. He stated that they will be before the ZBA on July 21st to get the variances that are needed for the project. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned