Item Title:
DEMOLITION REVIEW 899 PLEASANT STREET
Item Detail:
24. COMMUNICATION/ DEMOLITION New Bedford Historical Commission, to City Council, re: BUILDING DEMOLITION REVIEW OF 899 PLEASANT STREET, (MAP 58/LOT 302), a Circa 1876 Carriage House – advising that “the Humphrey House and its carriage house are contributing resources within the North Bedford National Register District; the carriage house is a rare surviving outbuilding from the period in which prominent citizens built their homes just outside the village center and it also reflects the transition of the North Bedford District from an area of large estates to an area of mixed business and residential uses; because these buildings’ original purpose is now obsolete, these structures are prone particularly to neglect and demolition; the proposed reuse of this vacant property would introduce professional offices in this area of the City which the Master Plan identifies as a commercial corridor, one particularly visible from a Downtown gateway area, due to the site’s high visibility, the retention and preservation of the carriage house would provide a more attractive and historically authentic streetscape for visitors and neighboring residents; to accommodate the City’s parking requirements, the carriage house necessitates removal or relocation; the Commission encourages the applicant to pursue the initial submitted plan to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals which demonstrated the relocation of the carriage house and its adaptive reuse as a separate office space, and furthermore to consider the available option from the Planning Board to seek a Special Permit which would allow a reduction in the parking requirement, if according to the Ordinance, the Board “finds that the reduction is not inconsistent with public health and safety, or that the reduction promotes a public benefit.”, “in light of these findings, the New Bedford Historical Commission has determined that the structure at 899 Pleasant Street is a historically significant and a Preferably Preserved structure.”
Additional Information:
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