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Panel approves $5,000 façade grant for historic Charles Washington office with restoration condition
Summary
The panel approved a façade improvement grant of up to $5,000 for the Charles Washington office at 119 North Lawrence, conditioned on adherence to the city's design review standards and staff recommendations; board members expressed a preference for the higher, more restoration‑oriented bid.
The city design‑review panel voted Oct. 16 to approve a façade‑improvement grant of up to $5,000 for 119 North Lawrence Street (the Charles Washington office), a late‑18th‑century contributing building, on the condition that the work adhere to the city's design review standards.
Staff member James said the applicant provided two bids: Jefferson Construction at $10,661 and Vintage Building at $31,500. "The cost to the city for either would be the same, would be $5,000," James said, and staff recommended approval.
A planning professional who identified themself as the planning director and zoning administrator (speaker 5) urged a fuller restoration, describing the higher bid as necessary to remove paint from brick, address potential water infiltration at the gutter line and restore the door. "The $31,000 bid is to take all the paint off and to fully restore it," the planning director said, and noted the larger scope would better protect historic fabric.
Board members discussed paint removal techniques and the merits of linseed‑oil paints and historic restoration practices. One member said Mr. Whitten's lower bid lacked specifics on paint removal and recommended the linseed‑oil approach described by the other bidder.
A motion to approve the grant as recommended by staff, conditioned on adherence to the design review standards, was moved and seconded and carried. The panel discussed the option of tying the grant award to a particular contractor if necessary to ensure historic accuracy.
