Demolition Delay Placed On Stage Harbor Rd. House

CHATHAM – The historical commission placed a one-year demolition delay on a 120-year-old Stage Harbor Road house last week, urging the owners to find a way to incorporate the historic portion of the building into their plans for a new home.

Commission members said that loss of the house would have a negative impact on the Stage Harbor Road streetscape.

“That’s a very special street,” said commission member Robert Stevens. “To put a modern plastic house there would be historically incorrect.”

It was the second time demolition of the house was before the commission. A 60-day demolition delay was placed on the structure in December 2022, but the project was put on hold after a special permit request was withdrawn from the zoning board of appeals in early 2023.

Owners Susan Probst and Anthony Grimm proposed demolishing the entire structure, saying that it was not practical to renovate it to meet their needs. At a commission meeting Oct. 7, Attorney William Riley said the building was modified so much over the years that the original historic structure “is really completely hidden.” The owners plan to retire to the house and would like a modern structure with space for family, he said. 

Plans for a new structure show a Cape-style house as opposed to the gambrel-style home that was previously proposed. The design is “very traditional,” said Riley. “I think it will fit in well with the neighborhood.”

Commission members agreed that the existing house met the criteria for historical significance. The 127 Stage Harbor Rd. home was one of several “cottages” in the area that housed support staff for the nearby large brick house overlooking Oyster Pond. When that building was converted to condominiums, the nearby houses were subdivided and sold, Riley said.

Historical Preservationist Fred Ecker, who examined the structure for the commission, said while some original detail has been lost or covered over, “the core of the house is still there.” Later additions on either side of the original building could be removed to preserve the original building, he said.

“I’m worried that a much larger house on that streetscape will ruin that whole view,” Ecker said.

“That street is one of the most historic streets in town,” said Chair Frank Messina. He noted that the commission tried to organize Stage Harbor Road property owners to have the street declared a National Historic Register District, but that homeowners voted against a nomination.

“There’s very little left of the original structure that’s usable,” Riley said, adding that some interior features could be saved and incorporated into a new house, but to try to save the entire structure would not be economically feasible.

“Just so people who walk by can look up and see a classic colonial design imposes a very unfair burden on the property owner,” Riley said. The design of the proposed new house would not harm the streetscape and provide the owner with the space they need, he added.

“Our purview is historic preservation,” not financial matters, Messina said. He called the design of the new house “pretty canned” and urged the owners to take a hard look at the existing structure and find a way to incorporate it into a new house, adding onto the rear to preserve the existing streetscape.

The one-year delay should give the owners’ architects time to revise the plan to incorporate the existing structure, commission members said.

Riley said the proposal is scheduled to go before the zoning board of appeals once again on Nov. 20.