2438 St. Claude Ave

Staff Recommendations: 

The current building first appears on the 1908 Sanborn map as a two-story commercial building with a wrap-around gallery or awning. While a substantial renovation and reconstruction was completed between 2016 and 2017, it appears that portions of the original building's type, form, and massing may have been retained or replicated as part of this work. However, it is not clear how much of the building's original historic fabric remains presently. Based on this, HDLC considers the building to be Contributing (but altered) rated.

 When the applicant originally applied for this work, the initial drawings were returned for revision due to the proposed visually prominent wall and roof-mounted commercial hood vents. The applicant then worked closely with Staff to revise the proposal so the new vents necessary for the interior kitchen changes were more discretely located at areas with minimally visibility from the surrounding streets. Additionally, a new walk-in cooler was also approved for installation at the rear yard with a simple post-supported lean-to type roof covering to integrate it with the existing building and reduce its visibility and impact from the street. 

Roof Mounted Hood Vents:
It appears that the revised and HDLC-approved plans were not communicated by the applicant to their mechanical contractor, and the initial non-approved drawings may have been utilized when the hood vents were installed at the building. The applicant has also proposed installing new screening to help mitigate the visual impact from the street, however, the area is clearly visible from portions of St. Claude Avenue. While it is very unfortunate that the vents were installed at the current location, the building is highly altered and the cost to relocate the vents would likely be prohibitive. Based on these factors, Staff has no objection to the request for retention of the hood vents, and recommends denial of the request to install new roof-mounted vent screening. 

Changes at Rear Walk-In Cooler:

In addition to the approved walk-in cooler having a simple lean-to type roof covering, it was also to have a remote condenser unit located on the flat roof area of the primary building. However, it appears that this was changed during purchase/installation without HDLC review, and a more typical condenser unit is now visible on top of the cooler. This change also appears to be preventing the installation of the roof covering. While this area of the building is only partially visible from Music Street, it is adjacent to historic residential structures and contributes to the tout ensemble of the streetscape. 

The applicant is requesting to retain the walk-in cooler as currently installed, and is also requesting approval to install a second cooler adjacent to the existing and in the same configuration. The applicant has noted that they are amenable to installing new fencing or screening to help obscure the view of the coolers from the street, however, it is does not appear that new 7'-0" tall fencing would meaningfully reduce the visibility of the overall coolers or roof-mounted condenser units. 

Based on these factors, and because the roof covering was a simple strategy to integrate and accommodate an otherwise large and inappropriate piece of commercial equipment, Staff recommends denial of the request for retention of the changes at the rear walk-in cooler. Additionally, Staff recommends the cooler's condenser unit be relocated or replaced with a remote condenser unit so the roof covering can be installed, and that all new and visible wall-mounted conduit is removed or re-routed. For the request for an additional walk-in cooler, Staff recommends approval with a proviso that it must have a simple lean-to type roof covering to match the adjacent cooler.