The Historic District Commission voted unanimously on Monday to approve siting and massing for the renovation project at the Surfside building. It has been a long process to get to this point, with the HDC sending the applicants packing at previous meetings.“This is an extraordinary improvement over what was brought in before,” HDC member Martha Ball told Glenn Gardiner, the architect on the project. “It is respectful of the neighborhood,” she said.
During his presentation, Gardiner pointed out that the overall scheme had been downsized to 12 guest rooms. The original plan had called for 32 rooms.
Carolyn Collins, an abutter to the property, thanked the applicants for listening to the community and the concerns they raised at previous meetings. The original plans were for a much larger addition that would have interfered with viewsheds from virtually every direction. The new plans have a modest addition onto the back of the building and two new stand-alone cottages.
Architect Doug Gilpin, whose firm specializes in blending traditional historic forms with contemporary interpretation, spoke from the audience during the public comment portion of the meeting, and said the design was “a wonderful marriage of the little buildings connected with thestreetscape.”Collins
