Preservation Foundation Issues Alert About Putnam Project Under Consideration By Design Review Tonight (12/5/18)

[JK:This is an email sent out by the Preservation Foundation]

 PRESERVATION ALERT 
53 PUTNAM STREET

Tonight at 7PM the Design Review Commission will do a sketch plan review of the application for new construction at 53 Putnam Street.  This is a preliminary review with non-binding discussions about the basics of the project prior to the submission of a formal application.  This project will be reviewed by the Design Review Commission again in the future.  To review the application; the Foundation’s letter, including historic photographs and Sanborn Maps; and any additional correspondence submitted thus far, please CLICK HERE.

The project site is located in the local historic district.  It is immediately adjacent to the Broadway Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is within the viewshed of Congress Park, a National Historic Landmark.

The existing circa 1905 one-story building has been vacant for many years and housed a dry cleaning business for decades and later served as a storage facility for waste hauling vehicles.  The Foundation does not object to the demolition of this structure and supports a new use for the site.  The Foundation appreciates the time and investment that the applicant is making in the development of this site.  However, the Foundation has significant concerns about the project as it is currently proposed.

The Foundation objects to the height, scale, and mass of the proposed structure.  It is not compatible with the neighboring structures and the character of the historic setting.  The submitted application provides the context of the buildings behind the project site on Broadway.  However, the Foundation does not agree that this is the context in which the height of this structure should be reviewed as the buildings located on Broadway have a 30’ grade change from Putnam Street.  The height of this structure should be reviewed within the context of the existing buildings located on Putnam Street and historic documentation.

The Foundation recommends that to fully understand the visual impacts of the height of the structure, an assessment of various viewsheds should be provided – including Congress Park, Henry and Circular Streets. The Foundation is strongly recommending that the height of the structure be reduced.  In addition, the Foundation finds that the architectural details and materials of the proposed project are inconsistent with the surrounding buildings.

If you wish to provide any comments regarding this project you may do so at the Design Review Commission meeting  this evening at 7pm at the Saratoga Springs City Center, 522 Broadway, or you may submit written comments addressed to Tamie Ehinger, the Chair of the Design Review Commission, via email bbirge@saratoga-springs.org.
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