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132 Essex Street - Certificate of Appropriateness - Stacks wing, relocate stairs, other alterations REVISED 8-3-18 Salem Historical Commission 120 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM,MASSACHUSETTS 01970 (978)619-5685 FAX(978)740-0404 CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS REVISED It is hereby certified that the Salem Historical Commission has determined that the proposed: ❑ Construction ❑ Moving ❑X Reconstruction ❑x Alteration ❑ Demolition ❑ Painting ❑ Signage ❑ Other work as described below will be appropriate to the preservation of said Historic District, as per the requirements set forth in the Historic District's Act(M.G.L. Ch. 40C) and the Salem Historic Districts Ordinance. District: Washington SQuare District Address of Property- 132 Essex Street Name of Record Owner: Peabody Essex Museum Description of Approval of Work(based on decision at May 16,2018 meeting and clarified by Commission on August 1, 2018): ■ Relocation of/brownstone stairs from Connector Building to original location at Plummer Hall; ■ Demolition of 1966 Stack Wing,Boiler Room and chimney based on structural evaluation by Structures North as outlined in letter to PEM dated May 2018 and with the proviso that the mitigation items identified in the Supplemental submission from the PEM dated May 2, 2018 (see attached) be completed as outlined; • Restoration of copper cornice at demolished section of roof edge; Restoration of rear elevation of Daland House; • Restoration of former windows on 1913 Vault wing; • Creation of new ramp at rear of Daland House per drawings by Schwartz/Silver Architects presented to Commission on April 4, 2018. Upon completion of work,please notify Historical Commission staff for final review and sign-off of Certificate. _ Dated: August 3, 2018 SALEM ST ')RICAL CO I SIO ' B7 The homeowner has the option not to commence the work(unless it relates to resolving an outstanding violation). All work commenced must be completed within one year from this date unless otherwise indicated. THIS IS NOT A BUILDING PERMIT. Please be sure to obtain the appropriate permits from the Inspector of Buildings (or any other necessary permits or approvals)prior to commencing work. 60 Washington St,Suite 401 Structures North O Salem,Massachusetts 01970.3517 P.O.Box 01971-8560 F 978.745.6817 1 P 978.745.6067 www structu,es-north com 2 May 2018 Peabody Essex Museum 161 Essex St. Salem, MA 01970 Attention: Robert Monk, Director of Facilities Reference: "Stacks"Structure Re-use Challenges Dear Bob: At your request, we are providing this summary of our concerns regarding the structural nature of the existing"Stacks"Structure,which was attached to the vault at the rear of the Phillips Library in 1966. This structure consists of a five-level modular metal library-type stack structure enclosed within brick-faced concrete block masonry shell.This is spanned over by a modem corrugated sheet metal roof deck supported on steel beams. The modular metal structure is basically a large storage rack with an integral shelving system,which makes up the entirety of the internal structure of the building. Floor-to-floor heights are 7'-3 to 7'-4 Y2", meaning that the actual clear floor-to-ceiling heights are several inches less, due to the thickness of the floor structures. Present-day building codes require floor-to-ceiling heights of no less than 7'-6". The exterior walls consist of unreinforced mass masonry, with a 4" thick brick veneer physically bonded to an 8"thickness of concrete block at the interior. Other than for its own thickness and mass,this type of wall construction offers little or no moisture separation or thermal separation from the exterior environment, due to its lack of an integral vapor barrier and insulation. While appropriate for most public uses, this construction type is not suitable protection for climate- controlled archival quality storage, and.the Museum's consultants have recommended that the structure,in its present form,no longer be used for this purpose. Therefore,for it to be of continued utility, the stack structure would need to be re-purposed. Re-use of the structure for any human occupancy would require code-compliant floor-to-ceiling heights of at least 7'-6". Even if it were physically possible, raising of all of the floors the,4 or so inches needed to meet code would sacrifice of the upper level,where the available height would be cumulatively reduced. In addition, because the structure's interior supporting columns were constructed as part of the closely spaced shelving system,even with the shelves removed the floor plates would be rendered impractical by the sea of frequently and tightly spaced columns that would make space planning untenable. Removal of the columns would require the floors to be demolished and replaced with a new structural system that could span longer distances between more widely spaced columns. The longer spans would increase the floor to floor distance by more than a foot,and result in an interior volume of four levels, rather than the present five. Gutting and reconstruction of the interior would require extensively bracing the unreinforced masonry shell, which would temporarily become 4• Structures North PEM Stack Structure's Re-use Challenges 2 May 2018 Salem,MA laterally unstable without the presence of the interior floors. Safe crane access for the installation of the new interior framing would likely require removal of significant portions of the roof structure, making the remaining shell temporarily even less stable. After the re-spacing of floors, none of the doors to the adjacent spaces would line up with the floors and would need to be reconfigured. Also,with the re-spacing and re-use,new openings would need to be cut into the exterior walls in order to naturally light the interior,further weakening the exterior walls and rendering the current exterior aesthetic of the facades unrecognizable. In addition, the building would need to be seismically braced due to level of structural alteration,the nature of the existing wall construction,and the effects of the cut openings. This would prompt further alteration of the remaining structure. Other than for the desire for its preservation,the extensive,above-described efforts that would be required for any functional purposing of the existing structure make its re-use highly impractical. Sadly, because of the fact that the vast majority of the of the original building fabric must l e removed or significantly altered to achieve any functional re-use, the practical merit of preserving this structure, other than in its present, virtually unusable form, would not be a well-merited investment. Please let me know if you have any questions. Respectfully Yours, -10 oW - — — — Jf3HN M. VMTHN4E ., STRUCTURAL w { No.W20 John M. Wathne, PE, President AWL North Consulting Engineers, Inc. 2 Peabody Essex Museum Supplemental submission to the Salem Historical Commission 2 May, 2018 Brown St Essex Block Improvements: • Daniel Bray House 1 Brown St— 1. Repair of broken windows on front fagade and removal of plywood covering. Status-Work is underway and will be complete by 5/11/18 2. Comprehensive restoration plan is currently being developed by Groundroot Preservation Assoc. Exteriors plan shall be presented to SHC for consideration by late August with work to commence immediately upon approval. • Brown St Fence and Parkin Lot: 1. In conjunction with a plan being developed by Meridian Engineering to remediate a site drainage issue that is detrimental to the Andrew Safford House, Carriage Barn and Bray House, a plan will be presented to the SHC also in August, for consideration which will include the replacement of the wooden Brown St fence with a landscaped sidewalk border. This plan will most likely include the reduction of the number of parking spaces. • Lye Tapely Shoe Shop: 1. Replace existing asphalt shingle roof with a wood roof. Work will be completed in summer of 2018 2. Replace existing asphalt siding on rear of building with appropriate pine clapboards. Work will be completed in summer 2018. 3. Upon completion of the above work the Shoe Shop will be reinstalled and opened as a static exhibit. • Green Metal storage building: 1. This structure will be removed from the site by mid July. • Federal Gardens: 1. In conjunction with the development of landscape plans for the proposed Plummer/Daland restoration, the landscape designer will write specifications for the re planting Federal Garden. The timeframe for this is to be commensurate with the timing of the Plummer/Daland restoration project.