Board asks for more drawings, continues storefront request at 130 Saint George Street

Board members on March 19 voted to continue an application to replace a central storefront at 130 Saint George Street and to install an accessibility ramp. Staff described masonry cracks above the storefront and recommended the COA be continued to allow the applicant time to produce drawings that more clearly depict visual impacts and to explore alternatives to the proposed ramp, which public works staff flagged as potentially projecting into the right-of-way.

Applicant Duncan Daley said he had engaged an engineer and found movement in the lintel and parapet; the engineer recommended a steel header with support columns to shore the opening. Board members discussed options — setting the door back to allow a ramp inset, veneering an aluminum storefront with wood trim, or using channels bolted through the wall to avoid an I-beam — and encouraged the applicant to bring finished drawings, window cut sheets and details to the April 16 meeting.

One member recommended a design approach that preserved the storefront opening and used a ShopTrak-type aluminum framing veneered in wood to match historic character while meeting structural needs; another suggested the applicant consult the historical society for photos to guide a restorative or compatible contemporary design.

The board voted to continue the certificate of appropriateness until the April meeting and asked staff to work with the applicant on potential code and right-of-way constraints for the ramp.