Historic Preservation Board approves rooftop restaurant and late‑night hours at Lincoln Road and Drexel

The Historic Preservation Board on Thursday approved a certificate of appropriateness and a variance allowing a rooftop restaurant at the corner of Lincoln Road and Drexel Avenue to operate an outdoor bar counter until 2 a.m., and waived required on‑site loading, subject to staff conditions and monitoring.

Board staff told members the rooftop deck sits about 128–140 feet from the nearest residential building to the south and that the planning board had placed tight operating conditions on the operator. Michael (staff) recommended the board approve the modified certificate and the requested variance, noting the application is also subject to the conditional use permit issued by the planning board.

The project team said the restaurant, branded Medusa Mediterranean and operated by Noble 33, is intended to be a culinary destination with a focus on food rather than a nightclub. Paul Savage, representing the applicant, and Dean Sacconakis, chief operating officer for Noble 33, described interior layouts, back‑of‑house arrangements and the rooftop design and said they have worked with the Lincoln Road business improvement district. Savage told the board the applicant provided a noise study prepared by Criterion Acoustics and the consultant, Andy Swerdlow, testified the study shows the rooftop operations will not exceed ambient sound levels at nearby properties when planning‑board restrictions are followed.

Members asked about loading and deliveries after the city’s Drexel Avenue improvements, and the applicant said the final order allows the required off‑street loading to be waived in favor of using commercial freight zones on Drexel Avenue, Sixteenth Street or Pennsylvania Avenue, to be coordinated with the parking department and staff. The board also questioned how renderings related to proposed landscaping and whether rooftop canopy structures would be visible from the public right of way; staff and the applicant said final canopy details and screening would be worked out in the conditions of approval.

After comments and a short public‑comment period that included support from the Lincoln Road business improvement district and one speaker who urged a quick approval, a board member moved to approve the certificate of appropriateness “as per staff recommendation” and the board approved that motion. The board then approved the variance to extend outdoor bar hours until 2 a.m. The votes on both items were unanimous, recorded in the hearing as 7‑0.

Board approval includes the planning‑board conditions and the staff‑recommended monitoring and design clarifications such as clarifying the rooftop canopy details, ensuring the renderings reflect the landscape plans, and compliance with the sound‑monitoring and enforcement measures contained in the planning board’s conditional use permit. The approval also preserves the requirement that loading arrangements be reviewed and approved by the parking department and staff consistent with the certificate of appropriateness and city regulations.

The applicant and operator said they will proceed to amend permits and coordinate with the city’s capital improvements staff on the Drexel Avenue work and the project’s interaction with the street reconstruction.

Votes at a glance - Certificate of Appropriateness: approved (motion: as per staff recommendation; tally reported as 7 in favor, 0 opposed). - Variance for rooftop outdoor bar hours (extend to 2 a.m.): approved (tally reported as 7 in favor, 0 opposed).

The project will return to building‑permit review and must meet the conditions of the planning board’s conditional use permit, the noise‑mitigation measures in the record, and the loading coordination spelled out in the final order.