HARB continues Sisters of St. Joseph institutional proposal to Jan. 15 for clearer renderings and landscape details

The Historic Architecture Review Board continued the certificate of appropriateness application from the Sisters of St. Joseph for the proposed institutional building at 241 St. George Street to the board’s Jan. 15, 2026 meeting. The applicant presented a revised packet but staff and multiple board members identified outstanding documentation and asked for more realistic street-level visuals and detailed construction drawings before final approval.

Board members said a rendering of the Aviles/Coquina wall elevation read as visually abrupt in the packet: a photo-realistic view without the planned trees and landscape made the building appear much closer and larger than staff and the applicant assert it will read on the street. The board asked the applicant team to provide renderings that match the landscape plan (trees, shrubs and the nine-foot coquina wall) and to supply scaled drawings of gate designs, reduced balcony/ bracket detailing, and the railing and paving specifications for the retention pond and courtyards.

Applicant representatives said they had reduced bracket size and lowered some stairwell roofs since the November review, produced a set of 3-D scans of the mother house to better match window trim, and had a landscape plan that retained many existing trees; they asked for a January continuance to produce the staff-requested materials. The board agreed and continued the item to Jan. 15, 2026 so staff and the public can review a full, consolidated submittal.