Renovation passes
Historic Commission approves, 3-2, ‘certificate of appropriateness’ for Daugherty Building proposal
Clinton Historic Commission last week passed, 3-2, a certificate of appropriateness for the redevelopment of the Daugherty Building.
Developer Kent Leach is planning a 39-unit apartment building, along with approximately 2,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor of the building.
Concerns at the meeting ranged from parking to an elevator shaft that will be built on the outside — back side — of the building.
The two votes against the developments, Missy Snead and Melissa Einwechter, both pointed out the elevator as reasons they would not vote in favor of the certificate.
“It definitely affects the skyline of our historic downtown,” Snead said.
Einwechter said, “That monstrosity of an elevator” was a primary concern for her.
The architect for the project, Buzz Goss, said the elevator is a “must” and the only place to build it was outside the building. He said expanding the existing service elevator inside the building was not possible because the Daugherty Building was made of wood, and to make that elevator feasible was not doable.
Other concerns addressed:
• Parking — it was noted in a study conducted during the city’s “Visions” meeting several years back that one thing Clinton has is “ample parking.”
• Air conditioning and noise pollution — the proposed apartments will not have individual units, Goss said. The central air conditioning unit will be on top of the building.
• A playground — the latest plans for the Daugherty Building have no playground included. When the subject was brought up, Leach said a playground has never been included in any plans for the building.
• Retail space — Einwechter asked how much retail space would be available on the ground floor. Leach said there would be about 2,000 square feet of space available.
That amount is almost twice what was first projected.
When asked what kind of retail shops would be located in the building, Goss said there were hopes for a coffee shop, maybe a bookseller, but added, “We don’t know. We won’t know until the project is complete.”