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08/30/2016 12:30 PMA historic home’s exterior will be preserved and a new structure, with an exterior design compatible with the original home, added to the rear. That is the result of a decision on Aug. 15 by the Zoning Commission to approve a special exception permit with conditions for the Connecticut Sports Foundation plans for 15 North Main Street.
Approved was the foundation’s plan to demolish 4,000 square feet of newer construction now attached to the rear of the original historic home on North Main Street. In place of these additions, the foundation would attach to the rear of the original historic home a 5,333 square-foot, 1½-story new building of a style compatible with the circa-1815 historic home.
The applicant, the Connecticut Sports Foundation, is a non-profit organization that provides economic assistance and financial aid to cancer patients and their families in Connecticut. It was founded in 1987 by John Ellis, former major league baseball player and cancer survivor. The new structure planned for 15 North Main Street will be the foundation’s new headquarters and includes offices, meeting space, and an art gallery.
Zoning Commission Chairman Robert Friedmann, as noted in the meeting minutes, suggested that as a condition of approval the limits of the demolition must be clarified and a notation be made on the plans and that as a condition of approval, that the part of the historic building will be preserved and if something is uncovered during construction, the applicant will come back before the Zoning Commission as a major modification to the Special Exception permit, which will require a public hearing.
Also in the minutes, Sabrina Foulkes of Point One Architects told the commission that the plan was to gut the interior, however, they will not remove the roof and in the process they will determine how to proceed without damaging the structure.
Joe Wren, P.E., of Indigo Land Design, representing the applicant, told the commission that the construction of the new building would begin in the fall and be followed in spring 2017 by the installation of the new driveway.
The schedule for the new 15 North Main Street driveway, therefore, would coincide with the start of the town’s major reconstruction of North Main Street and installation of streetscape improvements.
As recommended by the Architectural Review Board to the Zoning Commission, a historic plaque will be erected on the front of the older section of the building and period-correct landscaping, such as rose bushes or boxwoods, be installed.
The original historic home at 15 North Main Street was the birthplace of Maria Sanford, a historic figure and renowned educator whose statue stands in the U.S. Capitol representing the State of Minnesota in the state hall. The Old Saybrook Historical Society, whose members knew of Sanford’s history, had worked with the foundation and its founders to try to preserve as much of the original historic home as possible.
When the original project application was filed, both the original home and its additions were to be demolished. The original home was not been listed on either the state or federal historic registries. After learning of the home’s importance, the applicant compromised, settling on a plan to preserve the exterior of the original home while demolishing the newer additions to the rear to make way for a new structure.