To the editor:

On Dec. 5, the Warren Planning Board held a meeting for the Master Plan application to build an apartment building on Water Street, which requires the demolition of two historic buildings. Many residents took the time to attend and express their concerns. However the developer’s lawyer, architect, and engineer weren’t there because their application wasn’t complete. They requested the meeting be continued until December 15, much to the chagrin of the attending residents.

On Dec. 15, the planning board held the meeting and the public was told it was a public hearing, so even more residents showed up to express their concerns. This time the developer’s team had not prepared the financial ‘pro forma’ enough to satisfy the Town Solicitor, so again they requested the meeting be continued until Jan. 23.

Needless to say, this left those residents extremely frustrated. Many got up to ask questions about the process, although many felt the answers were murky, which only reaffirmed their frustrations. People are busy, it’s the holiday season, and yet the residents of Warren feel it is vitally important to protect the historic character and streetscape of Water Street, so they are taking the time to participate in this process.

Although the developer’s attorney continues to claim that the two buildings at 119 and 113 Water St. are not historic, they are in fact over 100 years old and specifically listed in the Warren Waterfront Historic District National Register nomination from 1974 as follows.

119 Water Street: Commercial/Residential Building ca. 1900 [This building shows up for the first time on an 1887 map] : A two-story, end gable-roof building with an original three-bay storefront with show windows flanking recessed center entrance and the entrance to the upper stories at the north end of the façade and symmetrical semi-octagonal oriel windows on the second story. [119 Water Street is especially noted in the nomination for its unusually fine example of a circa 1900 storefront, an architectural feature that was once characteristic of this section of Water Street and now rarely survives.]

113 Water Street: House ca. 1865 : A two-story house with stone foundation. Set gable end toward the street and well back from the street, this rectangular-plan building has irregular fenestration, a one-story enclosed porch on the south elevation, and one off-center chimney. It may be an earlier house moved to this site.

Besides the developer, apparently the only advocate for this project was the Town Planner, whose idea it was in the first place, and has now resigned, at least in part, due to this project, according to his comments in the Warren Times. From the Aug. 22, 2022 Planning Board meeting: “Mr. Rulli suggested the applicant consider applying for a Comprehensive Permit, as it would allow them the most flexibility in terms of conventional relief that they may need.” Evidently, the impacts on the buildings, the historic district, and the community were not taken into account.

Over 750 residents have signed a petition that’s only a few weeks old against this proposal. Now the number of ‘affordable’ units has dropped from its original 15 to three, so why is this proposal even on the table? It will add nine units that are not affordable, so the impact on the Town’s 10% quota would be negligible at best and negative at worst.

Davison Bolster
State Street