Owners Michael and Peta Prinn, represented by Attorney Dan Toscano, presented their petition to renovate the the current four-family dwelling at 279 North Street to the Neighborhood Council at their September meeting.
The owners would like to change the occupancy from a four-family dwelling to a three-family dwelling, expand the living space into the basement, build a new fifth story with a private roof deck, and expand the living space on the second, third and fourth floors.
The Council voted 5-1 in support of the project.
Several meeting attendees spoke out both in support and in opposition of the project. The main concerns of those opposed involved the addition of the fifth floor and roof deck.
Watch the full presentation and follow along with the timeline below.
(0:45) Attorney Dan Toscano goes over the proposal and zoning analysis. The renovation will expand the building slightly to fill in the gap to right (4:15). The basement will be redone and the new fifth floor would make the building 47′ 10″ in height. Most of the surrounding buildings are 55 feet in height.
(5:14) Unit #1 and #2 will be two-bedroom, 1 bath rental units. Floors 3, 4, and 5 will be owner-occupied with a four-bedroom, 3.5 bath unit. The renovated basement will be storage space exclusively for the owner. There will be two separate entryways – one for units 1 & 2 and a different one for the owner unit and basement. There will be an elevator that is only for the owner, it does not stop at units 1 & 2. The elevator doesn’t have any override on the roof because it will stop on the fifth floor.
(7:54) The addition will have a kitchen, living space, half bath and a back terrace. There will be 168 sq. ft of open space, set back 10′ 4″ with an open air stairwell, so there’s no proposed head house. The roof deck will have railings all the way around, 36″ in height.
(9:45) Toscano addresses issues raised at the abutters meeting. The owner of 45 Fleet Street was concerned the addition would block his view. A line of sight study was done showing the addition would be to the right of his view.
(10:56): Jake from 57 Fleet Street had concerns about privacy on his roof deck and sunlight. Toscano stated there are already several windows from adjacent buildings that look onto his roof deck.
(13:13) Bernie Sapienza at 50 Fleet Street is also concerned about his view. His building will still be taller with the new addition at 279 North Street so Toscano believes his view will not obstructed.
(14:40) A shadow study was done. See charts from summer and winter in the video.
Questions from the council begin at 16:58.
(18:40) Attorney Jocelyn Campbell speaks on behalf of Mr. Sapienza. She asked about structures on the roof. The items mentioned include mechanicals and air conditioning units. Toscano also clarifies that the basement is intended for storage and the building will be two rental units and the owner-occupied unit.
(22:24) Jake Gutterman at 57 Fleet Street gives first, his prospective on Mr. Sapienza’s situation, and then discusses his own concerns about the addition (24:32). His main concern is devaluation of his property based on privacy on his roof deck.
(28:40) Mike Dello Russo, who is the general contractor for the job, talks about the initial demolition and his shares his thoughts on the previously held abutters meeting.
(31:41) Michelle from directly across the street shares her support for the project. Later, at 39:05, a number of attendees raise their hands to show they also support the renovations.
