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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC2002-009 Staff Report And Recommenations 12/03/2002SLCity of Little Rock HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION STAFF REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS PREPARED BY: V. Anne Guthrie DATE: 3 December 2002 APPLICANT: James R. Williams, agent ADDRESS: 1212 Scott Street COA REQUEST: New construction of an office and studio PROJECT BACKGROUND, DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS: The subject property is located south. of I-630, on the west side of Scott, between 12th and 13th streets. The subject project is located on vacant property, half a block, behind what was Jungkind's Photo Center. The site consists of about 3 4,5 00 square feet; the survey depicts the site from the northwest comer of 13th and Scott streets to the Arkansas Highway Department right-of-way and along the eastern side of the alley. The project request involves the new construction -of a two -storied office building (15,474 sqft). Associated parking of 43 spaces is on the northwest corner of the site and is accessed from a new curb cut on Scott and from the north/south alley entries on the west. The exterior fagade of the rectangular building is symmetrically designed. On the east (front fagade) elevation there are ten pilastered bays with four flanking bays on each side of the centered and pedimented double bay. Each bay consists of two windows on each floor; the windows are wooden clad. The first floor windows are larger and have canvas awnings; the windows on the second floor are smaller and not as ornamental. The second -storied windows have brick headers. The exterior wall finish is brick with accent brick window headers. Ornamental architectural elements are the precast concrete window sills and concrete accents on the pilasters. The capped parapet is along three elevations (north, east and south). On the east elevation,. -the two corners (north and south) are chamfered with a double door entrance; the north has the appearance of an entry but is not operable. The south elevation (facing 13th Street) has second storied windows but the first floor has recessed brick detail, which may be interpreted as emulating openings on the building due to its massing. The north elevation is similar to the east in that there are eight pilastered bays with four windows a bay; canvas awnings are utilized as well. This elevation faces 12th Street and part of this block is taken up with the Arkansas Highway Department right of way. The architect stated that an effort was made to incorporate particular architectural elements of surrounding commercial properties. As the historic district is predominantly residential, the design guidelines do not address specifically commercial property in new construction. This project site is along the western -most edge of the MacArthur Park Historic District; it has been vacant for several years. Adjacent to the project site, there are: offices and commercial properties to the west; 12th Street and I-630 to the north; an office building across Scott Street, to the east; a half block of vacant property to the south; and an office on the southeast corner of 13th and Scott streets. The QQA's offices are in the 1300 block of Scott (east side) and the Villa Marr6 is on the corner of 14th and Scott. There are eleven criteria in the district's design guidelines for consideration. On page 39, the guidelines state that "New construction of primary structures, should maintain, not disrupt, the existing pattern of surrounding historic buildings along the street by being similar in....." 1) shape; 2) scale; 3) roof shape and pitch; 4) orientation to the street; 5) location and proportion of entrances, windows, porches and divisional bays; 6) foundation height; 7) floor to ceiling height; 8) porch height and depth; 9) material and material color; 10) texture; and 11) placement on the lot. Additionally, new construction "of primary structures, while blending in with adjacent buildings, should not be too imitative of historic styles so that new buildings can be distinguished (differentiated) from historic buildings." Of the eleven criteria, the proposed project meets all and is an excellent example of new construction in an historic district and as infill commercial development. This project development is scheduled before the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment on 23 December. The owner is seeking two variances of the development provisions of section 36- 342.1. The first variance request concerns the percentage of glass on the first floor of the front fagade; development regulations specify that 60% of the front fagade be glass, and the applicant is requesting less percentage. The second variance is to allow parking between the proposed building and the corner street right-of-way; the applicant is requesting that the 26 parking spaces be allowed. The associated parking lot on the northwest corner of 13th and Scott streets is landscaped and has a perimeter iron fence and lighting. Staff of this commission and the zoning board have discussed the subject property and agree to incorporate any conditions that this commission may deem appropriate. NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACT AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no objections to this project request either in writing or by phone. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: It is staff recommendation that the project request be approved with the following conditions: ♦ fence details (cross section, etc.) be submitted to staff prior to construction ♦ applicant must submit one set of final plans (to include site plan, elevations) to staff; ♦ project must obtain required variances for development regulations; ♦ project must meet all city codes and zoning regulations; and ♦ should the project scope change in any fashion in terms of material, massing, scale, profile and size, staff will be notified and appropriate actions taken.