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Design Review Board approves Onyx Partners’ modernized facade at 40 Franklin with color and lighting conditions
Summary
Onyx Partners won approval to replace precast panels with a blue‑gray curtain wall and larger windows at the former electronics building at 40 Franklin Street, subject to a muted finish (not bright white) and controls on proposed accent lighting.
Onyx Partners received conditional approval from the Needham Design Review Board on a plan to modernize the former "You Do It" electronics building at 40 Franklin Street.
Mark Glusing, chair of the Needham Design Review Board, opened the discussion after the applicant presented renderings and materials samples. The developer described plans to remove precast concrete spandrel panels, install a blue‑gray curtain wall system with full‑height windows on the first floor and a flush storefront, and repaint brickwork to create a more contemporary facade. The applicant said signage will be brought forward in a separate submission.
"We are currently updating the storefront and introducing full‑height windows," the project presenter said during the presentation. The applicant also described proposed LED accent lighting that the team characterized as "night‑sky compliant" and down‑washing for safety.
Board members applauded the overall direction but raised concerns about contrast, materials and nighttime brightness. A board member noted that renderings tend to show homogeneous glass bands that may read differently in reality, and several members said the proposed bright white finish on parts of the facade appeared too stark next to surrounding properties.
"If there's a way to either warm it down or warm French gray or something else to sort of tone it back a little bit, I think it could be helpful," a board member said during the review.
To address those concerns, the board approved the facade renovation with two conditions: that the final exterior color avoid a bright white tone (applicants were asked to select an off‑white or light gray / "French gray" alternate) and that any new accent illumination be timed or dimmed to a low security level after 11:00 p.m. The board and the applicant discussed coordinating illuminated signage timing with the lighting controls so signage and facade accent lighting operate on the same schedule.
The board voted unanimously to approve the application with those conditions. "We can time it with the signage," the applicant said in response to the illumination condition.
The approval allows the façade renovation to proceed to permitting, with signage to come back as a separate application and any rooftop signs subject to applicable special‑permit rules because new rooftop signage is no longer permitted and older rooftop signs remain grandfathered under the town's sign bylaw.
