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Commission approves revised rooftop addition at 74 McDougal Street but asks for material restudy
Summary
The commission approved a revised rooftop addition at 74 McDougal Street in the McDougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District after the applicant reduced height and slope visibility, but commissioners asked that the material and finish of the rooftop addition be restudied so it is differentiated from the primary facade.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a rooftop addition and rear‑facade modifications for 74 McDougal Street in the McDougal‑Sullivan Gardens Historic District at its March 11 meeting, while requesting further study of the addition’s materiality.
Preservation staff said the application (LPC 25‑04391) proposed a rooftop addition visible from select vantage points and a modified Second‑Floor opening at the rear façade. The applicants revised the project after a February hearing to reduce visibility: the bulkhead height was lowered by about 1 foot, the roof was sloped away from the party wall, and the massing and mock‑ups were updated to show reduced sightlines from surrounding streets.
Mark Barak of DTLS Architecture and project manager Alicia Duquette French described how the new design reduced the addition’s profile and introduced a recessed ‘‘artist‑loft’’ dormer on the south façade above the stairs. The team said the overall bulkhead height was lowered and that the addition would use a patinated copper standing‑seam roof to visually integrate with village rooftop languages. Staff summarized visual studies showing a diminished presence from the historic‑district vantage points after the revisions.
Some commissioners supported the revised massing and lowered height but asked that the front and rear facing facades of the rooftop addition be differentiated from the historic brick below so the addition reads as a rooftop accretion rather than a continuation of the primary façade. Staff recommended approval with a condition that the material finish be restudied in consultation with staff and that coping and parapet details be refined.
The commission voted to approve the application with that modification; the motion passed 7–0.
Why it matters: The property sits on the edge of a tightly defined historic district and the rooftop addition is visible from some public vantage points. The commission’s condition seeks to protect the integrity of the historic façade while allowing a reduced, less visible rooftop volume compatible with contemporary use and code requirements.
Vote: Approval with modification (material finish to be restudied) — 7 in favor, 0 opposed.
