Lexington Historical Commission Adds Former Parker School to Historic Inventory Over Objections

LEXINGTON — June 17, 2026 — Lexington Historical Commission adds the former Parker School to its historic inventory over affordable housing objections. The commission voted 4-0 with one abstention Wednesday night to add the 1920 Craftsman-style building at 314 Bedford Street, now Parker Manor Condominiums, to the town's Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey, after an extended public hearing in which representatives of Lex Hab, the Lexington Housing Authority, and the Affordable Housing Trust argued the designation could raise capital costs and threaten the 11 affordable units — roughly 39 percent of the building's 28 homes — owned by those public entities. Elaine Tong, chair of the Affordable Housing Trust speaking in a personal capacity, asked the commission to exempt Parker Manor from the demolition delay bylaw as it had for town-owned public schools; Vice Chair Marilyn Fenollosa rejected the comparison, explaining the schools were simply "removed altogether from the inventory" rather than exempted, and that Parker School's architectural significance — designed by prominent Lexington architect Willard D. Brown — placed it in a different category entirely. The commission also unanimously approved a partial demolition at 24 Parker Street, continued a cedar siding replacement application at 21 Butler Avenue after rejecting a proposed vinyl substitute, and took no action on a request to remove 9-11 Cedar Street from the inventory after no commissioner offered a motion.