Concord’s city council should take the advice of Richard Woodfin, chairman of the planning board, and hold off on the approval of any further balconies or other additions to the facades of Main Street’s historic buildings.
Too much public time and money has been invested in the historic street to allow its look, feel and architecture to become a jumble.
Guidelines won’t be enough. It’s time to craft zoning ordinances that govern what is and isn’t compatible with the award-winning street’s historic character. The goal shouldn’t be to freeze the street in time but to avoid the kinds of changes that the city and property owners will come to regret.
We are not among those who bemoan the addition of balconies to Remi’s Block, the building on the corner of North Main and Bridge streets formerly known as the Vegas Block. We would not, however, like to see them become the template for what we believe Woodfin rightly predicts will be a likely proliferation of balconies.
City Planner Heather Shank has suggested that the planning board meet with the city’s architectural design review committee and seek public input on the street’s architectural future. The group should consider whether the downtown portions of streets like Pleasant, Warren and Park should be included in whatever plan emerges. It will not, and should not, be a quick process. Building owners, tenants and residents should weigh in.
Balconies will help to speed residential use of the upper floors of Main Street buildings, but so would the addition of bay windows, rooftop decks and exterior elevators. Rules governing all should be debated.
Many communities have dealt with this issue. The goal typically is to protect the architectural features of historic buildings and ideally make changes that can be reversed without damage. The planning board took up a proposal by Dora Hinxhia, Remi Hinxhia’s sister, to add a balcony to the building housing the Northway Bank. She is converting the third floor into a three-bedroom apartment.
The architect representing Hinxhia said his goal in designing the balcony and its glass railing was to create “something a little more contemporary that disappears.” We like the disappear part but get queasy when the word “contemporary” is used.
The metal facades covering some brick facades on some of the 19th-century buildings and the ghastly colored panels on the facade of what was the state’s Employment Security building were once contemporary.
Should future balcony additions be uniform in design or color? Will, as happens in much of the world, balconies be used to dry clothing? Will objects or ice falling from balconies be a hazard for pedestrians? Will drivers be distracted by people on balconies? None of those things may become a problem, but they should be considered now, not later.
Balconies and galleries add great charm to New Orleans’s French Quarter, to Paris, Barcelona and other cities. They can work on Concord’s Main Street if they echo its existing style.