Design-review board reviews scaled-back YMCA addition at 99 Union Street; materials and preservation concerns resolved with state office

Project architect Rock Butido (QA and M) presented a revised design that removed the roof deck, reduced glazing in fitness spaces and added square footage enclosed on upper levels. Tom Arcari said the design team worked with the State Historic Preservation Office and that the building was deemed historically significant, so the design underwent multiple iterations to secure approval from a major funder. The team described materials (metal panels, EIFS, brick veneers, Azek TimberTech rain-screen products) and showed color chips; the board probed the EIFS-to-metal-panel transition line and asked for clarity on exact locations and samples.

The board expressed concern about visible materials and color selection and asked the applicant to provide clearer delineation on the working drawings and to supply color samples to staff for final sign-off; the design team agreed to provide the requested materials and details.