Date: Fri 13-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Office-building-Maguire

Full Text:

P&Z Presses For Office Building Design Improvements

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have discussed improving the

aesthetics of an office building proposed for Berkshire Road with the

applicant for the structure.

James and Kathryn Maguire of Russett Road, Sandy Hook, have applied to build a

one-story, 7,500-square-foot office building on a one-acre site across

Berkshire Road from G&H Tool Company, Inc.

The Maguires want to build on the east side of Berkshire Road, about 400 yards

northwest of its intersection with Mile Hill Road.

The 75- by 100-foot building would have a brick veneer and a flat roof. The

structure would have oblong, vertical casement windows. The building, which

would be used by a construction company, would include garage space.

The Maguires had proposed affixing a fluted metal fascia panel around the top

of the building.

P&Z Chairman Stephen Koch told Mr Maguire June 5 the P&Z wants to keep the

proposed building's appearance in conformity with nearby architecture.

Mr Maguire responded that the only architecture in the immediate area is the

tool company across the street which is located inside a converted house.

"My concern is I think the building looks a little industrial," P&Z member

Heidi Winslow said of Mr Maguire's building design with the metal fascia. The

appearance of the building will set the architectural tone for the largely

undeveloped commercial area with B-3 business zoning, she noted.

Ms Winslow asked that the building be redesigned so that some architectural

projection or overhang extend from the structure near the roofline. Such a

projection would make the structure visually "softer," she said, suggesting

that some type of vinyl material be used for the trim.

Mr Koch suggested a slight sloping of the architectural trim to give the

proposed building a "gabled appearance."

Creating a projection or overhang along the top of the building to create a

simulated mansard roof would increase construction costs.

Mr Maguire said he doesn't believe the metal fascia makes the building look

"industrial." The proposed structure has a brick veneer and the site would

have nice landscaping elements, he said.

The area around the building to be used by the construction company will be

kept clean, he said.

"It's going to be setting a tone," Ms Winslow said of the building's design,

noting P&Z members want high architectural standards for the area.

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing the Maguires, reminded P&Z members that

small commercial/industrial buildings are allowed in the business zone along

Berkshire Road. The type of structure proposed by the Maguires is the kind of

building that will be built in that area, he said.

Ms Winslow stressed that she doesn't want to have the buildings constructed in

that area look like "a row of boxes."

P&Z members don't want to reject the office building proposal, but do want the

structure to be more attractive than was initially proposed, Mr Koch told Mr

Maguire.

Mr Maguire said he will confer with the firm that would build the structure in

light of P&Z members' concerns about the building's design.

Mr Koch asked that any modified plans be depicted in an architectural sketch.

Mr Edwards provided P&Z members with plans for additional landscaping for the

site which the members had requested at a previous meeting.

The applicant agreed to extend until early July the P&Z's deadline for acting

on the Maguires' application.

Approximately 2,800 cubic yards of earth materials would be removed from the

site in conjunction with the project. An office building had been planned for

the property about 10 years ago, but it was never built.

The P&Z's site development plan review for such an office building doesn't

require a public hearing.