Design Review & Preservation Board, Middletown

CITY OF MIDDLETOWN DESIGN REVIEW AND PRESERVATION BOARD Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development REGULAR MEETING MINUTES August 14 2019 6:00 PM Council Chambers, City Hall I. Call to Order at 6:05 II. Chair Pro-Tem nomination by Maria Holzberg, Seconded by Harvey Cushing for Bruce Plumley to sit as Chair of the meeting. Unanimously approved. III. Public Comment for Items on the Agenda Stephen DeVoto wished to comment on the 319 Washington Terrace Project but would wait till the project is brought up on the agenda. IV. New Business a. Rak Application 324 Washington Street Exterior renovation of the building for use as a Professional Office Building. John Schieb from Northeast Collaborative Architects present the plan to remove the more modern addition to the rear of the building and replace it with an enclosed open-air stairwell to the rear of the building. In addition, Vinyl siding would be used to cover the existing exterior of the building with the exception of the Pediment. The pediment would be restored and painted. Motion to approve as submitted made by Maria Holzberg, seconded by Harvey Cushing. Discussion: Mr. Cushing was in favor of the later addition being removed, but did not like the current design for the open-air stairwell to the rear of the property. He did not feel it was in keeping with the design of the building. Mr. Plumley asked about exterior plantings and it they would block the rear addition as well as asking the question why the owner wanted to use vinyl instead of repairing the existing siding. The applicant indicated that they had contacted SHPO and has received information back, but has not had time to review with client. Christina Wasch asked if the exterior was irreparable or was it an issue with cost? The Architect indicated that it exterior needed significant repair and has looked at other options such as HARDY Board. It isn’t a simple repair and paint job. The Architect is going to see if his client will be interested in Historic Tax Credits available through SHPO. Harvey Cushing suggested Rhino Shield, Jaime Middleton concurred with Many of the concerns regarding vinyl siding. Maria Holzberg suggested looking more into grant funding. Friendly Amendment to the motion to continue to table the item. Motion made by Maria Holzberg, seconded by Harvey Cushing. Unanimous approval of amended motion. b. Wesleyan University -238 Church Street Construction and Renovation. Michael Rosali from Wesleyan introduced Joe Schiffer and Nathan Rich who are architects for the 238 Church Street Project. They gave a brief architectural history of the site. They went over the new addition to the Public Affairs Center (PAC) Building which would become the front door of the PAC. The architectural style would be in line with elements of the current PAC and Olin Library with large windows. Neo-Classical Architecture with metal treatments, brick that matches existing PAC, with stone and cast stone elements. They then discussed the new gllaery that would serve as a new connector between all of the buildings as well as the main gallery to display a printed works collection. There would  also have a reflecting pool in front of the space. The exterior of the building was primary glass allowing people to view past the structure. Motion to Approve as Submitted by Harvey Cushing, seconded by Maria Holzberg. Discussion: Board needed more time to review the details of the project. Jamie Middleton made a friendly amendment to continue to the next meeting. Seconded by Christina Wasch. Unanimously approved. c. Wesleyan University Film Studies Project Update Stephen Devoto spoke prior to Wesleyan giving an update. He was disappointed in the destruction of the building and felt that the developer was not true to their word or misled the commission on what it was going to happen to the building. He suggested the commission review what has happened and if they felt that they were misled to pen a letter to the developer condemning their actions. Michael Rosali from Wesleyan indicated that they did not intended to mislead anyone and they worked to do what was presented to the commission. He also indicated that Wesleyan had met with SHPO and the CT Trust prior to the project and outlined what they were looking to do with incorporating the building within the new Film Studies Building. Ultimately, as the exterior of the building was significantly more damaged and broke apart as they were attempting to remove elements. Wesleyan made the decision to salvage what they could from the building to be rebuilt on the new steel frame of the building. They intend to use the material and reestablish it over the internal structure. Michael invited the commission to do a site tour to see firsthand what was done. Christina Wasch motioned to do a site visit, Maria Holzberg seconded. It was unanimously approved. IV. Public Comment for Items not on the Agenda V. Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Maria Holzberg, seconded by Harvey Cushing. DESIGN REVIEW & PRESERVATION BOARD MEMBERS Chair- Jeff Bianco Member- Maria Madsen Holzberg PRESENT Member- Harvey Cushing -PRESENT Member- Brian Kronenberger Member - Vacancy Member- Bruce Plumley PRESENT Member- Marilyn Mills Member- Molly Salafia Member- Jammie Middleton PRESENT Member- Christina Wasch PRESENT Staff- Joseph Samolis - Director of PCD -PRESENT If you require special accommodations for any meeting, please call the ADA Coordinator at (860) 638-4540, (voice) or (860) 638-4812 (TDD/TTY), or the Town Clerk’s Office at (860) 638-4910 at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled meeting.