After weeks of wrangling over cornices and porticos, the Harvard Historical Commission issued a Certificate of Appropriateness for the upcoming Town Hall renovations. There were three remaining issues at the March 4 commission meeting, and Town Hall Construction Committee member Pablo Carbonell brought the information and drawings needed to resolve all three.
Siding won’t be exposed to runoff
The first concern was that because of the grade of the site, the wooden clapboards on the northwest and north sides of the building would be exposed to water runoff. Carbonell showed the commission the site plan and explained that there is a substantial trough in that area and that the swales (small valleys in the ground) have been dug deeper. That satisfied the commission’s concerns, and that item was removed from the list of problems.
Ramp is acceptable
The second issue was the aesthetics of the new concrete ramp planned for handicapped access to the front of the building. A mistaken impression that the portico (the platform at the top of the stairs) was granite led the commission to question the use of concrete for the new portico. That issue was resolved when commission members determined that the existing portico was made of concrete. Carbonell also showed drawings of where the new and old concrete will meet, and the ramp issue was removed from the list.
Gutters also acceptable
The third issue was the profile of the gutters at the gable end of the building. Carbonell explained that on the profile drawing the commissioners saw, the gutters looked fat, but they weren’t drawn to scale. Commission member Ron Ostberg asked that the drawings be corrected, and Carbonell noted on the drawings that the gutter sections in question will be the same size as those on the existing building.
Ostberg moved that the Certificate of Appropriateness be granted without condition, and the motion passed unanimously. General contractor bids are due next week, and barring any surprises, the renovation will begin as planned on April 20.
