The Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site) requests a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition of 212 Wolfe Street and exterior alterations to 525 Princess Anne Street. This ongoing case was publicly heard on May 13th and June 10th.

Demolition of 212 Wolfe Street
Demolition of the building at 212 Wolfe Street has included lengthy discussion between the applicants and the Board. This structure has little architectural significance, but is of interest for its historic use as a parsonage and its association with the church. Staff evaluated the potential for relocating the building, but available lots are too distant for this effort to be cost effective. Incorporating the existing building into the proposed church addition is also not considered feasible, because the related construction will require access through this lot. The building at 519 Princess Anne Street will be preserved, so construction equipment and materials must be brought on site through this Wolfe Street site. To remain a vibrant part of downtown Fredericksburg, the Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site) needs to expand its current facilities. Preservation of this church and the building at 519 Princess Anne Street would appear to outweigh the need to also preserve 212 Wolfe Street. Instead, the applicants propose to incorporate the outline and size of this former parsonage into the proposed addition. As a consequence, its form and evident function will not be lost to the streetscape.

Exterior alterations to 525 Princess Anne Street
The Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site) needs additional space for a variety of functions, as was discussed at the Board's meeting in June 2002. The proposed addition will be to the rear and side of the historic church. This construction, in the interior of the block, will maintain the integrity of the Princess Anne Street evaluation.
In projects of this scope, it is the Board's practice to help define the parameters of a project so the applicants can move forward with clear direction. At this time, the applicants request review of site planning and scale and massing. These items should be considered as follows:
Site Planning - The addition will be to the rear of the historic church and wrap around to connect to the house at 519 Princess Anne Street. The stairwell/mechanical addition, at the rear of the church and visible from Wolfe Street, will be removed, to accommodate this construction.
Scale and Massing - The addition will extend the original church sanctuary and incorporate the form of the former parsonage on Wolfe Street. The addition will have a flat roof to accommodate mechanical units. The Wolfe Street elevation, however, will have half of a gable roof to screen these mechanical units in their entirety as well as to visually integrate the addition into the historic building.
The fenestration of the addition will continue the pattern of the original sanctuary. The new construction will be discernible from the historic building by being stepped back and down slightly and through slightly different window frames. The rear of the addition will be two stories, consistent with the old parsonage and will have a shed roof. The portion of the design that will tie in with 519 Princess Anne Street has not yet been sufficiently defined to allow review.

Staff finds the proposed addition to be architecturally compatible with the historic aspects of the Historic District and recommends demolition of 212 Wolfe Street as well as conceptual approval for the site planning and the Wolfe Street elevation of the proposed addition.