Allan Appel Photo
Wang pitches historic commissioners on his plan.
All Jimmy Wang wants to do is put in bigger windows so pedestrian traffic can see how cozy his Wooster Square corner coffee shop is.
In an historic district, he’s learning, that’s not so simple.
In an historic district, the details — what those windows are made of, aluminum or wood, how you hang them, whether a bar creating a transom effect can be inserted — require detailed architectural input, and extra cash to pay for it.
Building in current condition.
Jimmy Wang, the owner for the past year and a half of the Wooster Square Coffee Shop, is finding that out through his appearances at the Historic District Commission (HDC).
Wang and his wife Sarah bought the building, which housed the former Fuel Coffee Shop, at 516 Chapel St. in 2015 for $525,000. They have applied for a city facade improvement grant. And they are seeking a certificate of appropriateness from the HDC for exterior renovations for the facade, door, roofing, signage, fencing, and especially for the windows.
At Wang’s first appearance in December before the HDC, he was urged by the commissioners to return with much more detail especially on how large the windows would be, how they would be supported in the walls, and if he would consider a “transom” look more in keeping with the historic neighborhood than the proposed large, modern-looking single panes.
Wang returned to the HDC this past week with plans showing proposed windows of seven by five feet on Chapel Street and seven by nine on Chestnut Street. But he brought in the same modest folding-board display that he’d brought previously, and little else that would satisfy the commissioners’ need for detail.
“Is this what you’re giving to the contractors?” asked Commission Chair Trina Learned.
Commissioners Learned and Royalty listen.
“We had suggested transom windows” last time, added Commissioner Susan Godshall.
“The bigger windows are better,” Wang insisted, as he had insisted in December when he batted away commissioners’ suggestion that he consider tilting the roof of his store to retrieve the mansard look of other buildings in the roofline.
“Where’s the hangup now?” Wang asked in his quiet voice, with a note of frustration.
“But you have only a concept,” Learned reiterated.
There followed a polite but painful back-and-forth, a reiteration that the commissioners’ responsibility is to demand enough detail so they see clearly what they are approving.
Wang — who said he is barely making money now and paying plenty of city taxes — said he just wants to get on with it, do what’s asked of him, and keep percolating that coffee.
Commissioner Godshall reminded Wang that he had been asked previously to provide more detailed drawings and he had only brought back the same renderings
“This is a small project,” Wang pleaded in response.
“With a big impact,” added Commissioner Tom Kimberly.
Proposed new window look.
“You’ve changed the look, making it more hospitable to customers. That’s good,” Godshall said, interspersing words of encouragement along with the marching orders. “But the detail of the windows and door … will it have framing?”
“What difference does it make?” Wang said. Then, taking out his phone, he asked if he could call his architect then and there to get the answer.
“We’re not trying to discourage you,” chimed in Commissioner Doug Royalty. “You’re on track to do something good for the neighborhood.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’m not making much money yet, but we’re paying taxes.”
“We want you to succeed, but we need more detail,” Commissioner Tom Kimberly concluded.
The commissioners voted unanimously to continue the hearing on the certificate of appropriateness for the changes to the next meeting, scheduled for March 13.
In the hallway outside, Wang said that modest as his displays might seem, he has already spent $3,250 on them. He estimated the final pricetag for the project — if and when he’s allowed to do it — at approaching $50,000. He said he hopes to get some of that money back from the city’s facade improvement grant program when the work is completed.
“I’m frustrated,” he said. “They’re [the commissioners] supposed to make our life easier.”
I support Mr. Wang. I will never raise his taxes and I will fire those commissioners immediately.