The Newton Historical Commission (NHC) met on Thursday to review multiple preservation and demolition requests on properties throughout the city, debating how to balance their historical significance with proposed redevelopment.
Councilors discussed a possible local landmark nomination for 55 Pine Grove Ave in Newton Lower Falls, commonly referred to as the Crehore House. Constructed in 1867, it is one of the few remaining structures of the larger Crehore family estate, and the NHC found the property to be historically significant last year.
“This Crehore House is the last remaining example of what originally was a much larger estate that covered a good part of [Newton] Lower Falls,” said David Lewis, Newton’s chief preservation planner.
Lewis explained that the historical value of the home itself was not in dispute, and commissioners discussed how landmark protections would apply moving forward, especially as development pressure increases in surrounding areas.
The NHC also reviewed a proposal for structural changes to 39 Westfield Road in West Newton, a property that was previously approved for construction.
“In 2021, the NHC approved plans for the new construction of this single-family home as well as a landscape plan that included the installation of a pool,” Lewis said.
Michael D’Angelo, principal at MDLA Landscape Architecture, explained updates to the property’s plan that are meant to better align the outdoor elements with the house’s architecture.
“We changed the pool orientation,” D’Angelo said. “The pool now aligns with the house, so it relates to the architecture a little bit.”
Commissioners questioned how the revised plans might affect the surrounding property and whether the changes remained consistent with the original certificate of appropriateness.
The NHC also discussed a proposal for a total demolition of 51 Carl Street.
Doug Cornelius, the NHC chair, said that plans for a replacement property were needed before a demolition could be approved.
“We did impose the demolition delay, but you can come back and form us with plans for the replacement property,” Cornelius said.
Cornelius explained that he wanted to give the applicants more time to explore alternatives that could preserve historic elements or produce a more sensitive replacement.
One of the final properties the commission discussed was 15 Spencer Street, a commercial building in West Newton that faces a proposal for its demolition.
Lewis and other public officials weighed in, with Lewis describing the case as “probably closer to a borderline case,” considering the building’s proximity to a home in the National Register of Historic Places.
“I don’t really see that this building has any of the character, the historical, or architectural importance that you usually look for,” said Ward 3 Councilor-at-Large Andrea Kelley.
The committee voted not to impose a demolition delay.
