301 Essex Street - Comments to SRA

​April 11, 2023
 
Ms. Grace Napolitano
Salem Redevelopment Authority
98 Washington Street
Salem, MA  01970
 
Re:  301 Essex Street
 
Dear Ms. Napolitano,
 
Historic Salem has been following this project consistently since summer 2022. HSI has been reviewing the project according to the principles for design in the SRA guidelines, including: “The design criteria are sympathetic to and conducive of the preservation and enhancement of historic and architectural values and to the construction of new buildings and facilities compatible with the preservation and enhancement of such values.”
 
As you review 301 Essex Street for schematic design approval, we note that during previous reviews, in several cases when this project was presented, there were significant differences between iterations, making it difficult to incrementally develop a design appropriate for this highly visible location.
 
In the case of the design that you are asked to approve at this meeting, the submitted colors of the materials were seen only once by the DRB. At that time, we expressed our dismay with this abrupt color change and stated that we would strongly support a traditional red brick choice, which has been fairly consistently shown throughout the review process. Many members of the public who wrote and spoke also requested that the brick color be something that resembled the existing brick found on the existing building and seen on the adjacent 1834 Salem Inn building as well as many nearby buildings.
 
The gray/black bricks create an addition that looms atop a small historic building, with no connection between the two, making the new addition visually overwhelming. It is also jarring against the context of the Salem Inn, other nearby downtown Salem buildings, and the historic residential neighborhood across the street.
 
There are specific parts of the proposal that we appreciate, including the design of the façade of the Essex Street elevation and the way it turned the corner onto Summer Street. However, in this current proposal, some of the articulated elegance has been removed with the simplification (removal) of the window mullions and the loss of the solid corner column. We encourage you to review the January 2023 proposal to see what was changed. And, again, to refer to the SRA’s own design guidelines.
 
On the Summer Street façade, we find the columns and heavy cornice that emphasize the garage opening unnecessary. The DRB members were also puzzled by the heavy cornice and included it as a piece that needs further review in final design. We believe that a more simplified Summer Street façade would showcase the Essex Street façade and provide a visual transition to the residential McIntire District.
 
We now ask that the SRA either (1) refer the project back to the DRB with specific recommendations, or (2) if schematic design is approved, that approval be conditioned on:  including more traditional-colored brick on the Summer Street façade, refinement of the Essex Street façade, and modifications to the upper cornice and columns on the Summer Street façade.  We believe that these conditions would be in keeping with the DRB’s recommendations to the SRA.
 
Thank you for considering our comments and for ensuring a thorough and rigorous review of this addition to Salem’s historic downtown.
 
Respectfully,

Emily Udy
Senior Preservation Advocacy Advisor