A dumpster and activity in the vicinity of 537 Warren Street, the location until 2019 of Mexican Radio, have raised questions about what's going on there. The building is being renovated to be the location of a new restaurant, one that has been described as having "a general store feel." The Historic Preservation Commission granted a certificate of appropriateness to proposal for exterior alterations in March 2025: "Change Coming to Warren Street."
At the its meeting on Friday morning, the HPC approved a change to the original proposal. The doors in the side of the building, which open onto the pocket park, were originally going to have sidelights.
In the new plan, the sidelights have been eliminated.
When asked if the change was being made for structural reasons or because of cost, the applicant indicated cost was the determining factor.
So far, the work on the building has focused on the interior. Work on the exterior of the building is expected to begin soon. The changes to the exterior involve the removal of the mural that was painted by Stirling Krusing in November 2009.
The mural was painted on metal siding, and the plan presented last year was to remove the metal intact so that the mural could be preserved. The mural was not mentioned on Friday, but it is assumed that is still the plan.
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The developer of this site, Officina 1397, is worth looking into. Restaurant group with several very successful concepts in the city (I Sodi, Buvette, etc.).
ReplyDeleteNot sure what "a general store feel" will entail, but we can be confident it will be good. Dying for more details.