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Commission backs Dorothea House exterior restoration with staff conditions
Summary
The HPC recommended that the planning board/planning staff approve an administrative waiver for Dorothea House's grant-funded exterior restoration—roof, stucco, windows, masonry and site work—subject to staff review of mock-ups, shop drawings and a historic treatment plan.
Representatives of the Dorothea Van Dyke MacLean Association asked the Princeton Historic Preservation Commission on April 28 to approve an administrative-waiver recommendation for a grant-funded exterior restoration of Dorothea House, a 1913 Mediterranean Revival building in the Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District.
Kevin Wilt, the owner'representative, said the organization needs permission to proceed with exterior repairs to the building's stucco, masonry, clay tile roofing and select window and door repairs. Architect Julie Croon described the scope: repair or replacement of about 10% of clay tiles in kind, repointing and selective stone replacement at the foundation, restoration of basement windows with new wells to address drainage, repair of the front bluestone steps and replacement of a later non-historic south stair with a masonry step, updated exterior lighting for safety, and a reconfigured rear parking lot to add an ADA space and a new accessible path to the main entrance.
"We're doing an exterior renovation only in this phase," Croon said, describing targeted repairs, repointing, and a plan to reuse existing tiles where possible. The project team said it will prepare a historic treatment plan and shop drawings for railings and other custom work for staff and grantor review.
Staff noted the project is tied to a New Jersey Historic Trust grant and recommended two conditions for the HPC's memo: (1) that staff be included in preconstruction conferences and mock-ups, and (2) that mock-ups and shop drawings (mortar samples, ironwork) and the historic treatment plan be submitted for staff review before final compliance sign-off. The commission voted unanimously to recommend the administrative waiver with those conditions.
