Historic Preservation Commission Agenda and Packet 2017 07 17

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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes June 19, 2017 Page 2 of 12 engineer and I reviewed the house, despite its unusual basement, we found it was in great shape. This house is a perfect candidate for landmarking. I think the building owner is very interested in doing that. Looking at the garage, it is their garage and also the neighbor's garage. The property splits the garage. If they remove the garage, there may be some issues. Bringing it up to moderate zoning and building code would result in them being without a garage, unless they attach it to the structure. It may be a variance process beyond it. This is not being discussed. The house is wrapped in asbestos siding. Underneath it is a type of siding that would be easy to replace. It has a chimney on the south side, which I think is a significant historical feature. It has been braced because there were concerns about the tall cantilever. The engineer and I discussed when bracing would be a good idea. It has a very strong historical feature of the shingles facing west, and then the bay window which pops off the south side. Both have distinctive detailing. The shingles are really cool with a lot of patterns occurring. I believe there was a door and small porch off the front but it is difficult to tell from the original photos. There are indications from the inside that there was a front door that faced Jefferson. Once the siding comes off, we will be able to tell better. Looking at the detailing, there is a lot of patterning. The lower part where the snow sits is where the issues are. Another unusual thing is that the property line falls at the neighboring house. This house is not a candidate for a pop -top. My report will indicate that with a strong recommendation from myself and the structural engineer. The basement is very funky and clearly the occupants have enjoyed it. It has remnants of old foundations, new foundations, and all done "pretty" well, better than average for Old Town. The floor has many supporting beams and many mid -span supports. They are odd but they work. There is little work needed --enforce th •r. Pre -filing Conference — 920-924 Main Street No Staff presentation. A..licant Presentation Andrew Johnson, DA . resign, 9 Main -t, Louisville, CO These are commercial properties and two addresses. 920 Main and 924 Main are known as the By Chance building and the old Bella Frida building. By Chance used to be the old Joe's Market. When this building was converted into retail, they enlarged the front windows beyond what was originally constructed. The Bella Frida site is the older site. The Joe's Market is not that old. Surprisingly, it came in around 1948 or 1949. 920 Main Street is built well. I did some floor plans to get a sense of how it was constructed. At some point, 920 Main decided to expand and build the rear portion. In the late 1990s, they lifted the building and built an insulated concrete form basement. The building is not only engineered well, it is built well, it has been re -enforced well, and is a great candidate for historic preservation. The building owners are interested in pursuing it. Digging into 924 Main was interesting. It is basically a big rectangle. What is there now is one story and low. They took the original floor plan and squared it off. I believe the building burned because there are indications of charring in the basement. You can see the old framing. There is a concrete wall dividing the old foundation wall with dimensional lumber beyond it, indicating it was added on later. It has the most frightening foundation I've seen in an Old Town building. I took the structural engineer down and his report indicated that either the building gets lifted for a new foundation or immediate remediation happens. There is a lot of soil missing. It is questionable whether floor framing is enough to save and if a re-creation is appropriate. Commission Questions of Applicant: Chuck Thomas asks about the floor joists. Johnson says the only thing left of the original structure is the floor. All of the framing above the floor plate is dimensional new lumber. The roof is all trusses.