Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Preservation Windows topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Worcester Historical Commission approves window replacements for All Saints parish house at 10 Irving Street
Summary
The commission approved a certificate of appropriateness and a building-demo delay waiver for window replacement at All Saints Episcopal Church’s parish house, allowing a mix of operational and fixed historically styled casement windows; applicants said they will seek Community Preservation Act funding to help cover costs.
The Worcester Historical Commission on July 24 approved changes to the parish house at All Saints Episcopal Church, 10 Irving Street, finding the proposed like‑for‑like window replacements appropriate for the Crown Hill Local Historic District and granting a building-demo delay waiver.
Father Sam Smith, director at All Saints Episcopal Church, told the commission the parish house was built in the mid‑1950s and that the project replaces mostly casement windows with historically correct casement‑style windows. He said the vendor, Modern Architectural Glazing, recommended making some windows fixed and others operational “so from the outside, they would all look just as they look now” while reducing cost. “We don't really need every window to open,” Smith said.
Commission staff and members pressed for historic‑standards adherence. Michelle Johnstone, city staff, said there is “some flexibility in the Secretary of the Interior standards” and encouraged the applicants to seek full funding for operational windows where appropriate. The applicants said they plan to reapply to the Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding program in the fall to help cover the higher cost.
After a public‑comment period with no speakers, the commission voted on two motions. On the certificate of appropriateness motion the roll call recorded affirmative votes from Commissioner Santos Restivo, Commissioner Andre, Commissioner Thierman, Commissioner Northway, Commissioner Taylor and Chair Diane Long. The commission noted that Commissioner Helnarski and Commissioner Gutierrez LaVotte were not eligible to vote on the item because they were not commissioners at the original opening of the application on April 24.
The commission separately found that the proposed window replacement would not be detrimental to Worcester’s historical or architectural resources and approved a building-demo delay waiver. Commissioners voted the same way on the waiver.
The applicants said painting will be part of the larger project but that they do not yet have an estimate for that work. They also said they will ask the CPA panel in the fall to consider covering the operational windows while the parish pays for fixed units.
