The changing face of Historic Pawtuxet Village
98 Post Road
On January 21st, the Warwick Historic District Commission reviewed an application for the demolition of 98 Post Road. The owners had previously made a preliminary request, resulting in much concern in the community at the prospect of losing one of our 1700’s homes in the heart of the district.
PVA raised awareness of this concern but also shared an important preservation resource with the homeowners, who already live in the district and own an historic property. We encouraged a meeting with a restoration expert, Rob Cagnetta of Heritage Restoration, to review and examine the property and offer them an assessment based on his solid knowledge and experience in very early period homes. The homeowners also consulted with an architect who was qualified in older homes and specifically post-and-beam construction.
In conjunction with the reports shared by both experts, the testimony of both experts was compelling. They were disappointed to find that upon examination, much of the house had been left to neglect for far too long, and in fact appeared not to have been constructed with good quality materials for their time! The experts [1] felt resigned to the fact that any restoration of this building would require extensive cost and materials just to frame it up.
The chairman of the Historic District Commission, George Shuster, outlined the levels of Historic Design Guidelines that would be used to evaluate whether the property should be saved and indicated that it would not only be difficult to obtain the preservation needed, but would become a hardship to the owner.
The vote was unanimous in allowing the demolition, but with the strong caveats that a new design must be brought forward quickly for review with a timeframe to begin. Demolishing and then sitting on it without a plan would not be acceptable. The owners are adamant they’re ready to move ahead and, as seen in the attachments, appear to have the start of a plan to construct a reproduction of the same.
Despite our heartbreak over the loss of an important building in our village, we appreciate the homeowners’ efforts in exhausting all the avenues they could to determine if the house could be saved, and for attempting to restore an older home. We look forward to the new plan reviews and construction in the future.
9 Post Road
The Historic District Commission was pretty busy in March! The other major project they reviewed was a proposed rebuild on the site of the old Hunter’s Garage (9 Post Road).
First came the decision on the demolition of the existing structure. As he had done for 98 Post Road, George Shuster followed the Warwick Historic Design Guidelines. The decision was unanimous that the building qualified for demolition.
Next was the review of the new design: its size, the number of units, materials that would be used for windows, doors, lighting, hardscape, sidewalks, and railings.
Public comment was allowed, whereupon Susan Hartman of the PVA board shared physical drawings we had commissioned by an architect, using the design plans submitted by the applicant, Bridge Realty, in their latest application. These images were important as they reflect how the actual building may look from several angles and how it will change the appearance of several views of the village. Susan also shared a list of concerns, some of which had already been raised by the Commission and addressed in their decision.
The building is required to be built on the existing footprint of the current structure, and not to exceed 35’ in height. It will need to meet a number of additional requirements from DEM and wetlands permitting; however, the majority of the requests the applicant has made have been accepted by the Zoning Board, Planning Commission, and City Council in Warwick.
George Shuster thanked the PVA for our investment in the report and for our commitment to the community over the past four years during this site review.
The vote of the Historic District Commission was unanimous approval based on the following:
—details presented for materials construction must be made
—retaining wall along the property line next to 25 Post will be made of natural stone
—accommodation will be made for the driveway at 25 Post Road
—a previously proposed flagpole was removed from plans
—matching brick will be used at the sidewalk area
—the existing street fixture (lantern) will not to be disturbed
—mechanicals and trash will not visible from the street
We feel this is an acceptable design for our community and while the size is still concerning for many, we’ll remain consistent in our expectations that the final build will be a positive contribution to the area and community.
Additional views of the proposed rebuild at 9 Post Road.
