Quechee
Members of the Hartford Historic Preservation Commission were unhappy with the visual impact the 5,300-square-foot expansion is having on a stretch of the Quechee Historic Mill District, a collection of more than 70 buildings that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
“You would think that naturally, because there are so many older buildings in Hartford’s five villages, there would be some kind of sympathy for the style of architecture” of surrounding buildings, said Robin Adair Logan, who sits on both the Planning Commission and the town Historic Preservation Commission.
Christine Scherding, director of the Waldorf School, said the school community is eager to be good neighbors, and build upon positive relationships with Quechee Village.
Project planners changed the project last year to accommodate earlier historical preservation concerns, and have landscaping plans that she said will address the concerns about the viewshed.
In the meantime, she said, staff and 180 students help breathe life into a village that might otherwise be too static.
“There’s no doubt that we have a large addition that sits on the brow of the hill overlooking Quechee Main Street,” she said. “We believe it shows the energetic vitality of the town, and the economic vitality of the town.”
The school is perched on Bluff Road, and was previously screened from view by a series of large old trees that have been cut down as construction crews rework the Bluff Road access.
In the end, the access road will be smoother and safer for motorists, but the school now appears prominently in the sightline at the intersection of Bluff Road and Quechee Main Street. It appears squarely between the Dinsmore House, a former parsonage built in 1850 on one side of Bluff Road, and a small brick building on the other side that was built as a library in 1909.
Logan said it’s an example of how projects can undermine Quechee’s aesthetic.
“It is a fairly sweet little town, where even the newer buildings have a classical line of some kind,” she said. “If you drive down there, you’re not jarred by something. But with the school up on top, and because it’s got that sightline, with no softening of landscape, its architecture is stark.”
Scherding said the project is helping to improve the view by replacing existing unsightly power lines with underground lines.
Jonathan Schechtman, chairman of the Hartford Historic Preservation Commission, initially raised the concerns about the project during a July meeting of the commission, where minutes indicate that it was discussed under the topic heading of “encroaching architecture.”
But on Tuesday, Schechtman said that after learning more about the school’s landscaping plans for the project, he is now withholding judgment until the job is completed.
Scherding said she has attempted to reach out to Schechtman, and hopes to have a positive dialogue with him in the near future.
The concerns raised by Schechtman and Logan have led to a change in policy for future construction projects within the town.
Now, when an application is submitted to the town for review and possible approval by the Hartford Planning Commission, there will be a formal opportunity for the Hartford Historic Preservation Commission to give feedback on the proposal, according to Town Planner Matt Osborn.
“Every five weeks, there’s an application deadline at noon,” Osborn said. “At 4 p.m. that day, they will sit down with the coordinator and have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions.”
In taking on the new role, the Historic Preservation Commission is joining the Conservation Commission, and the Tree Board, each of which currently bring their own perspective to the protection of town resources as they advise the Planning Commission on pending applications.
Osborn said the change was approved by Town Manager Leo Pullar, and is already in effect.
Schechtman stressed that the feedback is only advisory to the Planning Commission, and would only be offered in some cases.
“It was just felt that perhaps the possibility existed that the Hartford Historic Preservation Commission could at least share its views as to how new construction within a historic district would impact the streetscape,” he said.
Logan said the move is part of a larger effort to educate the town about its historical resources, and create a culture in which people are motivated to preserve them.
She is also advocating for an occasional workshop involving the two commissions and the Selectboard, at which the town’s historical resources could be reviewed and discussed.
This is the second time that the Historic Preservation Commission has raised a red flag over the Waldorf School expansion. The original Bluff Road renovation plans called for the demolition and removal of the Dinsmore House, but in 2016, the school changed the plans to preserve the structure.
As part of the expansion, the Upper Valley Waldorf School has also sought to acquire legal rights over a piece of land that abuts both its current parking lot, and the Ottauquechee School. The Hartford School Board rejected initial Waldorf proposals to purchase or enter into a perpetual lease agreement for the land, but Hartford School District Superintendent Tom DeBalsi said on Tuesday that the School Board has agreed to a three-year lease, which can be renewed by mutual consent.
Scherding said a $2.5 million fundraising campaign to support the expansion is only about $50,000 from its goal, and that they hope to finish the building addition in November.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.