Historic commission approves adaptive-reuse plan for 1155 Main Street with replacement windows, small fifth-floor addition

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Historic Commission on Thursday approved a certificate of appropriateness for an adaptive-reuse project at 1155 Main Street that would convert upper-floor office space to residential, replace about 56 windows on nonprimary facades and add a modest set-back fifth-floor addition. The commission voted to allow the changes after reviewing elevations, materials and a preservation plan presented by the project team.

The plan, presented to the commission by representatives of the project team and its architect, calls for retaining the Main Street primary façade and focusing window replacements on secondary and rear facades where ivy has damaged original frames. The application lists about 56 replacement windows (1-over-1, double-hung units in a bronze finish), three entry doors replaced in-kind, and a new fifth-floor addition set back roughly 5 to 6 feet from the building face to reduce visibility from the street. The project team said they will match trim and storefront bronze finishes and will use a darker gunmetal…