FRIENDS' Testimony:

FRIENDS commends the applicant for lowering the bulkhead from the previously approved design, thus minimizing the contrast between the dark granite and white facade. However, we believe that the marble framing of the entrance and storefront will introduce an inappropriate disruption to the simple design of the facade.

As we stated when this building came before the Commission in 2014 and 2016, we believe that midcentury white brick buildings such as this one are contributing to the historic district, rather than “no-style.” The introduction of the dark granite watertable at the ground floor, though reduced in this proposal, and the new white marble surround do not relate contextually to the rest of the building, and further erode its midcentury character. We ask the Commission to work with the applicant to create a ground floor design that is more in keeping with this building’s visual character.