HARB approves corbel replacements and roof repairs at 7 W. Philadelphia St.

The York City Historical Architectural Review Board on July 24 approved work at 7 West Philadelphia Street to replace several missing corbels and repair a deteriorated narrow roof ledge and damaged roof drain, a project applicant said.

Steve, a representative of Rose Square, told the board the work will include creating a mold from an existing corbel and casting new reproductions. “So we're making new ones. There's, like, 6 or 7 missing,” he said. He described the material as a resin-based, two-part polymer product (the applicant referenced a Eurothink product), which he said is paintable and has a high compressive strength.

The applicant said the corbels and related wood repairs will be matched to existing profiles. He identified a failing narrow roof area above the corbels as the likely cause of water infiltration and the corbels’ deterioration and said the project will replace the rubber roofing with new EPDM and address a roof drain that has caused rot below a window.

Board members moved and seconded approval during the meeting and called the vote; the chair announced the motion carried. No individual vote tallies or dissent were recorded in the transcript.

The applicant said the cast corbels will be mounted to match existing details and that a small amount of wood repair will be required beneath the problem drain. The board did not place additional conditions on the schematic description given at the meeting.

Work approved at the meeting involves repair and in-kind replacement of exterior decorative elements and targeted roof and wood repairs; the applicant indicated paint will be used to match the new cast pieces to the existing façade color.