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Articles
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| Two Southeast developments receive historic preservation approval |
VOICE writes, "BY KATIE REYES
A five-story condominium complex planned for 1010 7th St. SE and a new church proposed for 522 7th St. SE recently received thumbs up from the Historic Preservation Review Board
Condominium developer Jeremy Busse complied with improvement the board suggested at its July meeting, including the design of the mechanical penthouse structure and basement parking lot. But board members still asked Busse to scale back the penthouse walls to avoid impeding neighbors’ views.
Nancy Metzger, chair of the historic preservation committee for the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, said her group is happy with many of the improvements but still has a few suggestions."
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“We are still concerned with the penthouse structure and the height of this building. We would also like there to be a metal door instead of a garage door for sound concerns, but so far we are pleased with the new improvements,” Metzger said.
Board members also discussed scaling down the building by moving the penthouse walls back eight feet.
“The penthouse should be set back eight feet to reduce the mass of the structure and make this more of a utilitarian structure,” said board member Anne Lewis.
But Busse seemed skeptical that the idea could work. “Particularly with these concerns, there are some that we just can’t skirt around. By reassessing the top floor we are losing the square footage of the building, and it might take on a pyramid shape which we don’t want,” Busse said.
Since the structure will overshadow a historic alley, board members also were concerned the structure might crowd the alley, but ultimately they approved the building with the recommended changes.
The proposed church would be built on the site of an old Safeway grocery store, which would be demolished. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints led by Bishop Scott Parker has been holding services in the old Safeway for more than 10 years and now wants to build a classic church to replace the grocery store.
The development would have three structures: the central chapel, administrative offices and recreation facilities. Kevin Shearer, the church’s architect, devised a way to design below-ground parking in response to neighbors’ concerns.
Metzger said her group would like to see more greenery around the church’s facade and the entrance to the parking structure to be on the left side so that a neighboring row house would not be bothered by noise. “The community wanted to emphasize landscaping rather than hardscaping in regard to this project,” Metzger said.
The board suggested the bishop consult a historic architect about placing a suburban-based church in a neighborhood of row houses.
“We have made changes to the parking recently, and we are willing to look at the considerations of the board to continue to refine the structure in order to benefit the community,” Shearer said.
The church agreed to increase the landscaping, include fencing and gates, revise the proportions of the steeple and chapel and take the main entrance off public space.
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Posted on Dec 02, 2007 13:59pm.
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