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November 9, 2022
Grace Napolitano, Chair Salem Redevelopment Authority 98 Washington Street Salem, MA 01970 Dear Ms. Napolitano, Historic Salem has reviewed the newly submitted revised plans for the proposed project at 301 Essex Street, known as the Jerry’s Department Store building, which was built in 1897. This is a significant project that will define a key pedestrian and vehicular intersection in historic downtown Salem. We submit the following comments. Historic Salem was supportive of adding an additional 2-3 floors to the Jerry’s Department Store building because it would provide clear definition to this corner and the street wall and fit the scale of the downtown urban core. Unfortunately, in this iteration, adding just one (visual) floor to the building while not adjusting the design theme of the new construction, the advantage is lost. The current proposal does not match the urban massing of the Salem Inn or the urban scaled buildings on Essex Street. In addition, the lower height of the addition does not give adequate space to fully establish the design concept and so the existing and proposed buildings seem completely unrelated. In the two months since this project was last presented to the SRA the internal plans, including parking and retail, have been successfully simplified. However, we ask you to continue to work with the applicant to regain some form of the urban scale and elegant exterior design that the previous schemes presented. Sincerely, Emily Udy Preservation Manager
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Historic Salem, Inc. | 9 North Street, Salem, MA 01970 | (978) 745-0799 | [email protected]
Founded in 1944, Historic Salem Inc. is dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings and sites. Copyright 2019 Historic Salem, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
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