Lexington HDC Continues Clarke Street Mixed-Use Project, Sets Final July Vote

LEXINGTON — June 4, 2026 — Lexington Historic Districts Commission continued a yearlong review of a mixed-use development at 16 Clarke Street, voting 6-0 to push a final decision to its July 9 meeting. Chair Lee Noel Chase enumerated a defined list of remaining design details — including gutter and rake-board fascia conditions at gable ends, a disputed mansard-to-flat-roof intersection, and window casing drawings — that architect Scott Cooper must submit at least two weeks before the July hearing for the commission to hold an adjudicating vote on North Shore Residential Development Inc.'s proposal to demolish an existing structure and build a new mixed-use building in the Battle Green District. Commissioner Dan Heisel, the town liaison, said the remaining brick cladding on the Clarke Street facade was "a complete mystery from an architectural perspective" and a personal deal breaker, but a straw poll showed he was the only voting member who would oppose the project on the brick question alone. The applicant's attorney told the commission the design team was "running out of money to basically continue to make changes" after more than a year of hearings and revisions. The commission also voted 5-1 to approve exterior renovations at 1977 Massachusetts Avenue, with associate commissioner Brien Cooper dissenting over uncertainty about whether the property's existing vinyl windows had ever received HDC approval.