2361-2363 Saint Thomas St.

Staff Recommendations: 

The building at 2361-63 St Thomas does appear on the 1950 Sanborn map and FEMA estimates its construction between 1930-1940. However, the building has been fundamentally altered and is not considered contributing. The applicant received a Certificate of Appropriateness to fully renovate the building on August 16, 2024. A final inspection was conducted on September 5, 2025 and several items were found in deviation of the permits and approved drawings.

Exterior Egress Stair

The approved drawings show an exterior egress stair at the rear of the building, where it would not be visible from the public right-of-way. However, during construction, the stair was moved to the left elevation due to spacing issues at the rear. The current stair placement is visible from the public right-of-way. Staff does not typically recommend approval of visible egress stairs and is always cautious about setting a precedent. However, this building is Non-Contributing and previously had an inappropriate spiral staircase at the facade. Staff leaves the item to the discretion of the Commission. 

Flush Mount Windows at Facade

At the primary facade, two flush mount windows with uneven sashes were installed without submitted window specifications to HDLC Staff, per the approved drawings. These windows are highly inappropriate and are highly visible. Staff recommends denial of the retention of the windows and recommends the applicant work with Staff to find appropriate replacements.

Decorative Supports at Handrail

The HDLC Guidelines does not approve applied ornamentation to new simple metal handrails. If supports are needed for the current handrail installation, Staff has recommended non-decorative angled bars installed at the interior. As such, Staff recommend denial of the decorative supports.

Excessive Lighting on Facade

Per the Guidelines, decorative lighting should be limited to the primary entrance. The approved drawings did not have exterior lighting but the CofA did specify that any new light fixtures should be submitted. Staff did not receive a submission for light fixtures. As this is a multi-family building, Staff has approved the light fixtures at all door openings. However, the addition of two more fixtures at the windows that do not correspond to doors and are not vertically aligned are not in keeping with the guidelines. Staff recommends denial of the retention of the two additional light fixtures.