This letter was originally submitted to the Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA) regarding plans, scale, and design for the proposed addition to the Jerry’s building at 301 Essex Street.
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January 11, 2023
Ms. Grace Napolitano, Chair
Salem Redevelopment Authority
98 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
Dear Ms. Napolitano
Historic Salem, Inc. has been following the proposed addition to 301 Essex Street (Jerry’s) since before it was submitted to the Salem Redevelopment Authority for review in July 2022.
As the project plans, scale and design have changed, we have remained in favor of a 3-4 story building at this location as it strengthens the downtown streetscape on Essex Street and the “edge” of downtown before Essex Street shifts to a more residential character in the McIntire District. Therefore, we are pleased to see this proposal being submitted for further consideration by the SRA and appreciate that the revised design seems responsive to many of the comments made by the SRA, DRB and the public.
We look forward to commenting on the specifics of the design, particularly elements of the Summer Street façade, during the Design Review Board processes, and we support the action of approving this plan for schematic design review.
The attention that this project is receiving, including the back and forth between review boards as the program has been refined, are appropriate for this key building and location and we believe this will result in a better final design outcome. We encourage all parties to continue a thorough and rigorous review. Thank you for considering our comments.
Respectfully,
Richard Lindeman
President
