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Home My WebLink About20181133 Spa Hotel Correspondance Saratoi,za Spring\ Preservation Foundation March 5, 2019 Ms. Tamie Ehinger, Chair Design Review Commission F 0 R ‘7€7iee City Hail PRESERVATION 474 Broadway FOR. i0YEARS Saratoga Springs,NY 12866 RE: 19-23 Washington Street—Demolition&.New Addition 4rt,'s'i Dear Tamie: The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has reviewed the revised concept plan for the proposed new addition at 19-23 Washington Street. The circa 1840 stone Greek Revival house is listed as a contributing building to the Board of Directors Broadway Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is in the Matthew Veitch vicinity of several of the city's oldest strictures dating between 1840 and 1887. President As noted in the previous correspondence to the Design Review Commission and the James Gold Vice President& Planning Board dated November 5, 2014; September 18, 2017; October 24, 2017; and Secretary January 6, 2019,the Foundation remains concerned about removals to the historic rectory Adam NFavro building and the height, scale,mass, and design of the proposed new construction. . Treasurer The Design Review Commission has yet to establish the criteria for how the removal of Caroline Cardone the extension will be reviewed. The Foundation continues to strongly advocate for the Brennan Drake Sandra Fox preservation of the first portion of the addition, which has been part of the building for John Haller over 160 years. It does not appear to be in poor condition to the point that it cannot be Liz Israel reasonably repaired and preserved. Samantha Keit ull Douglas Kerr Richard King The Foundation's greater concern remains the scale, mass, and height of the proposed Michelle Paquette-Deuel addition. Since the scale, mass, and height of the addition is nearly the same as the Cindy Spence Dmitriy Yen-nolayev previous proposal, the SHPO comment that"the facade appears to be inappropriately large and monolithic, threatening to overpower the parish house and nearby historic buildings"remains true. The Foundation feels that this addition will loom over the 1840s James Kettlewell emeritus structure. The Foundation strongly recommends that the overall height of this structure be reduced or the upper floors should be set back. A recommendation that also was made Samantha Bosshait by the SHPOin regards to the previous concept. Executive Director The Foundation does not believe that this project meets many of the City's standards and Nicole Babie guidelines: Membership&Programs Director • New construction should complement the existing building and be compatible with the surrounding buildings. • It should not overshadow the existing historic building. • There should be a variation of building height and scale, extreme differences should be avoided. • Buildings with large, uninterrupted massing should be broken into smaller visual components consistent with neighboring buildings. • Rooflines and shapes should be consistent with surrounding historic structures. • New construction windows and doors should complement the window and door sizes, patterns and rhythm of neighboring historic buildings. 112 SprIng Street, Suate 203 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518-587-5030 The Foundation respectfully requests that the Design Review Commission discuss and address how this project as it is currently proposed adheres to the above listed guidelines. The proposed new construction overshadows and detracts from the historic rectory building and represents an extreme height difference. The proposed design does not relate to the existing historic building on the site nor does it relate to or take design cues from the existing historic streetscape. With the exception of the two-over-two windows, the door and window sizes,patterns, and rhythm do not complement or relate to the neighboring historic buildings. The Foundation prefers the treatment of transparent glass,rather than brick, for the addition that serves as a transition between the historic building and the proposed five- story addition. Otherwise, the Foundation continues to prefer the architectural style of the previous plan dated August 30, 2017 since it related to and took design cues from the other historic buildings on Washington Street, specifically 41 Washington Street. Please see enclosed rendering. Should this proposal continue to move forward, the Foundation has concerns about the size of the two-over-two window openings as they appear to be smaller than the nine- over-nine windows in the rendering that was presented on January 9, 2019. The Foundation finds the treatment of the east and west double-entrance doors with transoms and detailing to be too ornate and results in an institutional appearance. It recommends double-doors with smaller and simpler transoms above and less detailing. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration. Sincerely, 140wthicr.., pptfi Matthew E. Veitch Samantha Bosshart President Executive Director Cc: Toby Milde,RBC Construction, Inc. Dominick Reneri, Project Architect Bradley Birge, Administrator of the Office of Planning and Economic Development _ t EUI. + . •. a ' -�w. e r,- 7 ,,,,,o.0,i, in r- „,^ - '''r Nike,- F` v. 4' _ r+ ,", ;:+�i a ,M , , f. `i � � '-z-1:::''-",: '+y,ra .7%;'"fit �°c.` ..syp Fi.,-te :h " r. 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