RENDERINGS COURTESY TOWN OF BERLIN
Renderings showcase the plans owner Ernest Gerardi has for a three-story property on Stevenson Lane in Berlin. The first floor would have retail space, with three, two-story apartments above.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(Aug. 15, 2019) A proposed housing and retail project in downtown Berlin cleared another hurdle after receiving unanimous approval from the town’s Historic District Commission last Wednesday.

Property owner Ernest Gerardi addressed members of the commission to show renderings for his three-story property on 2 Stevenson Lane.

The proposed project would have retail shops on the first floor, and three, two-story apartments atop them. He said it would consist of approximately 1,757 square feet.

Gerardi added the storefront would look similar to DiFebo’s Italian Restaurant on 104 N. Main St. in downtown Berlin. If approved, he said, there would be “fancy woodwork,” glass windows and a “double door divided into one of two stores.”

A metal staircase would go up to the apartments on the second floor, according to the renderings. Gerardi also said that the front would be salt-treated, painted and covered with cypress green siding. The roof would also have lighter colored shingles.

Gerardi also said he feels this project “fits into the community in terms of colors and so forth.”

Gerardi said he planned to use high-impact windows to help soundproof the apartments as they are near several downtown restaurants.

Historic District Commission Chairwoman Carol Rose applauded the design.

“I’m really excited about the fact that you’re doing the front to look like what’s uptown,” Rose said. “Thank you for that. That’s very, very important.”

Commission member Laura Stearns agreed, praising Gerardi’s efforts in revitalizing downtown.

“I would like to say that I’m in awe of you for what you’ve done for the town of Berlin, and every building you’ve painstakingly restored,” Stearns said.

However, some commission members took issue with a couple of aspects of Gerardi’s design.

Commission members Norman Bunting and Robert Poli, DMD, agreed attention should be paid to the back of the building. Gerardi said it’s slated to have “wood pickers” down the side of the building.

Bunting asked Gerardi to “reconsider if it is possible to dress up the back” with a black iron railing similar to the front of the building, but Gerardi countered that he needed to be practical with the construction.

“It’s just a cost issue,” Gerardi said.

Stearns also pointed out the amount of green siding on the building.

“When I look at it there’s just so much green,” Stearns said. “That would be my only detail.”

Gerardi also said there would be a 48-inch walkway to line up with the nearby Palmer’s Appliances on Stevenson Lane. He received a variance approval from the Berlin Board of Zoning Appeals during a meeting last month.

Poli moved to approve Gerardi’s concept, which Alan Palmer, alternate commission member, seconded.