This evening at the Porter Square Neighborhood Association meeting, the owner/developer of 33 Richdale Ave. presented exactly the same design proposal as they did at the Cambridge Historical Commission last week. Attached is a rendering of their proposed design. (This design was not well received by both the CHC and almost all of the attendees.) The architect and owner/developer defended their proposed design a bit more strongly than they had at the CHC meeting.
The attendees at the PSNA meeting made the following comments (not a complete list).
--> "The new building gobbles up the old building."
--> "The historic remnant is lip service to preservation."
--> "Have you thought of creating real lofts instead of ordinary apartments?"
--> "How about putting a roof deck with pergola on the historic-building remnant to soften the look of the project?"
--> "When will you start to present design alternatives to the community (instead of this design)?"
It was a very respectful meeting, but I felt that the audience were the only people listening.
The owner/developer and architect explained that they will need a special permit for the project including relief from the rear-yard setback zoning requirements and possibly other zoning requirements. They believe that they will not need a zoning variance. As they have accumulated 3 community meetings at the end of the PSNA meeting, the owner/developer and architect hope to proceed to a public hearing with the planning board in late August or early September.
For those who might have an interest, the following link will take you to the report by the CHC and the materials submitted by the owner/developer.
click on "Case D-1308: 15-33 Richdale Ave." for the CHC report.
click on "Plans" for the materials submitted by the owner/architect
Steve Perry