Saratoga DRB tables determination on historic status of 172 Caroline garage; reviews proposed house design

The Saratoga Springs Development Review Board on Aug. 6 tabled a determination on whether a detached garage at 172 Caroline St., Lot 2, is historically or architecturally significant and discussed, at length, the applicant’s proposed single-family house and detached two-car garage.

The question of significance will return to the DRB’s Sept. 10 agenda after members asked for a site visit and additional time to review documentary evidence. Board Chair (staff) Susan and multiple board members said the application lacked a clear conclusion about whether the garage contributes to the National Register district and that a site visit would help clarify the structure’s relationship to 172 Caroline and to the streetscape.

The applicant, Charles Pritchard (owner/representative), and project representative Bob Flansberg of Dreamscapes presented the existing garage and the proposed house design. Pritchard said the subdivision approval required “the removal of the apartment from the existing garage,” and that the garage footprint currently encroaches over an adjacent property line; he also described structural and asbestos concerns inside the garage. Flansberg summarized the building’s altered condition, noting multiple additions and his view…