By Newport This Week Staff | on July 28, 2022
The Historic District Commission on July 19 tabled an application for renovations to the carriage house at the Miramar estate, saying it needed more time to consider the proposed conversion of six windows to doors at the 6,000-square- foot structure.
Stephen Schwartzman, chairman and CEO of a global private equity firm, the Blackstone Group, purchased the 31,000-square-foot property last year for a reported $27 million. The carriage house sits on the northwest side of the property and is intended to become a pool house and recreational space, said Martha Werenfels, senior principal at Providence-based DBVW Architects, which is designing the renovation.
The application seeks to convert six wooden windows to bronze doors. According to Werenfels, the windows are in poor condition, but could likely be repaired. But the HDC found the number of doors too high, and asked if it was necessary.
“Necessary is a tricky word,” said Werenfels. “I would offer that it’s possible to accomplish what we need to with perhaps fewer openings being altered. I don’t know what that balancing point is.”
The main house and surrounding property are undergoing an extensive historic renovation, which includes the mansion’s wooden windows and limestone facades. The replacement of the carriage house’s slate roof with a copper roof was previously approved by the HDC. The most recent application eliminated a proposed skylight at the structure.
According to Werenfels, bronze was chosen for the carriage house doors due to it being a durable and “historically appropriate material.” The estate was built in 1915 by architect Horace Trumbauer, who also oversaw an expansion of Doris Duke’s Rough Point, a project that used bronze extensively.
“We looked to Rough Point because it serves as a precedent for how [Trumbauer] would do a bronze window and door installation,” Werenfels said. “When the doors are closed, this building will resemble its historic appearance in a way that it has not in many, many years.”
The application was unanimously continued to the Aug. 2 meeting. In other matters, the commission approved:
n The application from Salve Regina University for permission toinstall two electric vehicle chargingstations at 24 Ochre Point Ave.; n The application from Igor Sokol,232 Ocean Ave., to add a sheddormer on the south side of themain house, remove the groundlevel wood-framed structure, andreplace it with a metal and glassgreenhouse; n The application from Hour GlassFarm, 203 Harrison Ave., to makemodifications to the main houseand garage;
n The application from Janineand Bruce Broussard, 719 BellevueAve., to make modifications to thewest-facing elevation, includingreplacing the canvas porch witha wood porch ceiling and secondstory deck, and installing woodmahogany balusters. n The commission unanimouslydenied an application from TriplerPell, 11 Mt. Vernon St., to replacewindows and a door, believing thewindows could be repaired.
The windows date to the 1800s and were recently restored, though their condition has deteriorated. The applicant was hoping to replace the windows rather than attempt another restoration.
“It’s not like these windows were made in 1960,” said HDC chair Karl Bjork. “I tend to disagree with the statement that new windows are better than old windows. The wood is better in an old window and the construction is usually stronger . . . My opinion would be to repair before replace.”
The commission will meet twice next month, on Aug. 2 and Aug. 16.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Enter your e-mail below to subscribe to our mailing list! You can choose whether to receive New Edition Notices, Nightly News Updates, or both!
Our Hometown DMCA Notices Newspaper web site content management software and services