Landmark Commission approves changes to Medical Arts Building, requires genuine stucco in place of proposed EIFS

The Galveston Landmark Commission on Aug. 18 approved a certificate of appropriateness for exterior alterations to the Medical Arts Building (302 Moody Avenue / 20 First Street), but required that proposed exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) be omitted and replaced with genuine stucco over masonry.

The commission's staff report said the application seeks approval for site work and exterior alterations including storefronts, windows and doors on the Medical Arts Building and the attached, smaller American Printing Building. The staff recommendation found the proposed alterations generally conform to the city's design standards, but flagged EIFS on the east facade of the American Printing Building as incompatible and recommended genuine stucco in its place.

The application includes work the staff noted does not require commission approval (for example, sidewalk repairs, brick and stone cleaning, repointing and reroofing) and also pointed to separate review by the Texas Historic Commission (THC) and the National Park Service (NPS) because the owner is seeking state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. The staff report said those reviews are separate and often stricter, and that any conflict with the Landmark Commission is unlikely.

In describing EIFS in the staff report, the planner said the product is "a type of synthetic stucco" consisting of insulation board, a base coat with embedded fiberglass mesh and a thin finish coat, as opposed to traditional solid cement plaster stucco. Staff noted the design standards identify genuine stucco as a primary exterior material in downtown Galveston and said masonry and traditional stucco are predominant in the Strand Mechanic Historic District.

The applicant, Dylan DeVito, said the EIFS is proposed because the east wall was removed in the mid-2000s and the wall did not exist when they acquired the building in 2015. DeVito told the commission he and the project consultant, Nick Kraus of Heritage Consulting Group, view the wall as a non-character-defining element and prefer EIFS for flexibility and to preserve funds for character-defining features. Kraus told the commission that "this exterior scope of work has been submitted as part of the historic tax credit process" and that the treatment "has been reviewed and recommended for approval by THC." (Applicant statements appear in the meeting record.)

Laura Bourgeois of the Galveston Historical Foundation said the foundation has restrictive covenants on the building and has not yet received the full submittal for review. Bourgeois warned that foam-based products such as EIFS have a history of failing in Galveston's waterfront climate because sun and salt accelerate deterioration, and asked for more information about mortar recipes if Portland cement is proposed for repointing.

After public comment and brief discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the staff recommendation as written. The motion passed; the meeting record shows the vote as "all those in favor" with no roll-call tally provided in the minutes. The approval is conditioned on omitting the proposed EIFS and replacing it with genuine stucco over masonry, along with standard staff conditions listed in the report.

Background included a previous certificate of appropriateness approval (22LC017) granted May 16, 2022, that expired May 16, 2024. Staff encouraged reuse or salvage of historic materials discovered during work and noted that some proposed work will be subject to THC and NPS review because the owner plans to pursue historic rehabilitation tax credits.

The commission's action allows the applicant to proceed with the broadly approved scope of exterior repairs and replacements so long as the EIFS is replaced with genuine stucco over masonry and the project adheres to the staff's standard conditions and the design standards cited in the staff report.