Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H: Level III

8-F-21-HZ

Applicant Request

New single-family residence fronting Deery Street, with a side elevation fronting E. 4th Ave. Overall footprint measures approximately 35' wide by 64' long, including an 8'-1" deep front porch. House features a hipped roof with a 3/12 pitch, with two-story hipped-roof massings projecting on both side elevations. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles, the exterior is clad in smooth-finish fiber cement lap siding with brick porch supports, and the house will rest on a brick-clad foundation. There are decorative horizontal trim bands at multiple levels on each elevation.

The house is proposed to be set 18'-2" from the front property line, with an 8' deep front porch set 10' from the front property line. The house is generally centered on the lot, with a 12' setback on the Fourth Avenue elevation (with a porch encroaching 5'). A concrete walkway will extend from the front porch to the sidewalk. Parking is accessed off the alley, with a 20' by 20' paved parking pad.

The façade (northeast) features a hipped roof with a 3/12 pitch, with a two-story hipped-roof porch centered on the façade, supported by brick columns. Exterior elements include fiber cement lap siding, brick pilasters, and 2'-6" wide by 5' tall metal casement windows on the first story. The second story features paired 7' tall by 5' wide French doors, centered over the first story windows. A half-light door is centered on the façade elevation. Revisions to application include additional single-light casement windows on the leftmost bay of the first and second stories. The front porch roof has also been revised to drop down below the primary hipped roofline.

The left side (southeast) elevation features a two-story, hipped-roof porch which is centered on the elevation. The porch has a 3/12 pitch hipped roof and is supported by brick columns. The first story features paired 2'-6" by 5' tall metal casement windows on the first bay, followed by three sets of paired French doors recessed below the porch, followed by a 5' by 5' single-light picture window. Three adjoining casement windows are located on the final bay, towards the façade. A similar pattern repeats on the second story, with all fenestrations centered above those on the first story. Revisions to this elevation include the extension of the side porch to reflect the proportions of the proposed 700 Morgan Street.

The right side (northwest) elevation features a two-story, hipped roof massing projecting from the center of the elevation. Windows on this side elevation are irregularly spaced, 2'-6" wide by 5' tall, metal, single-light casement windows.

The rear (southwest) elevation features a two-story, centrally-located flat-roof massing projecting outward, with six adjoining 2'-6" by 5' metal casement windows on first story and six adjoining 2'-6" by 4' metal casement windows on the second story.

Conditions of approval per 9/16/2021 HZC meeting: 1) The final exterior door selection to be wood and submitted to staff for approval, 2) Hardie-plank siding or a similar fiber cement material is appropriate in place of wood, 3) Using dark color for the roof, and the brick would remain unpainted. Stamped drawings dated 2.4.2022.

Site Info

Vacant lot.

PLACEMENT; HEIGHT, SCALE, & MASSING
1. The new house is proposed for an average-sized lot in Fourth and Gill that historically held a two-story, wood frame residence with an exterior of wood and a one-story corner porch. The proposed house reflects the shape of the lot, with a rectangular form and the narrow side parallel to the street. The subject property is a corner lot, which requires additional elaboration on the side elevation.

2. The house's proposed setback is 10' from the front porch to the front property line, and 18' from the front porch to the house's main massing. The average front setback of the block is 12.4'. The new construction proposed for the adjacent 705 Deery Street will feature an identical front setback, both to the front porch and to the main massing. The placement of both houses will maintain the historic façade line of the streetscape and reinforce the street's established alignment. The house is centered on the lot with consistent side setbacks, and a 7' setback from the left side property line at the closest point, which will allow for landscaping and green space adjacent to the sidewalk. The left side setback pattern will be reflected by the adjacent proposed new construction at 700 Morgan Street.

3. Guidelines recommend avoiding "replicating or imitating the styles, motifs, or details of older periods," and encourage compatibility in interpretation of historic styles and forms seen in the neighborhood. Similar to the proposed houses at 705 Deery Street and 700 Morgan Street, the proposed house is a contemporary interpretation of the Prairie style, including a mix of wood and brick elements, a low-pitched hipped roof, and wide eave overhangs. While there are not many Prairie-style houses in Fourth and Gill (or Knoxville), the selected style does fit into the neighborhood's period of significance. The Prairie style is an appropriate style selection for the applicant and owner's goals of a large house, as most Prairie houses were two stories and incorporate substantial porches.

4. The proposed house is two stories, measuring 26'-10" to the tallest roof peak. The size and proportions of the new house relate more to the largest buildings in the district (multi-family buildings at 403 E. Fourth Ave; 727 Deery Street) than the immediately adjacent Queen Anne cottages. The proposed house will be the same height as the new houses at 705 Deery Street and 700 Morgan Street. The applicant has dropped the roof peak height by under one foot.

5. To break up the large rectangular form, the proposed house successfully uses varied massings, including a two-story, centrally-located front porch; a two-story, hipped-roof side porch; and variety of siding details. The flat-roof, two-story projecting massing on the rear elevation is a unique tactic to incorporate additional interior space. It will be visible from the street due to the size of the proposed house and the corner lot. It does contribute transparency to the rear elevations.

6. The proposed house is compatible in façade width with the Fourth and Gill examples selected for the application packet (two-story, side-gable or hipped-roof houses with three-bay facades). The most logical comparison for the proposed design is 727 Deery Street, a brick-clad Prairie-style structure which was designed as a duplex instead of a single-family house. The proposed house extends significantly towards the rear property line, occupying the maximum building coverage permitted on the lot. The overall massing of the house is large. It is aligned primarily with the larger buildings on E. Fourth Avenue and Deery Street.

7. The façade integrates a mix of vertical and horizontal elements with horizontal trim bands, brick porch columns, and symmetrical window placement. These elements are characteristic of the Prairie style. The previously-proposed brick pilasters have been removed, in favor of vertical and horizontal trim elements.

8. The proposed hipped-roof form is generally compatible with the neighborhood, and incorporates some complexity via projecting hipped-roof massings on the side elevations. Guidelines also recommend using eave lines which conform to those of adjacent properties, and using divisions between stories that mimic neighborhood buildings. The proposed eave lines are somewhat taller than the immediately adjacent properties on the block (709, 713, 717 Deery Street) but are compatible with the two-story examples on the other side of the block.

The design incorporates substantial eave overhangs, characteristic of high-style Prairie architecture (including some outside-of-Knoxville examples provided in the application packet), especially on the facade. The application has been revised to include a separate hipped roof for the front porch, where the porch roof is set slightly lower than the primary hipped massing. This revision does assist in reducing the overall façade massing.

9. Guidelines recommend constructing new buildings to equal the average height of existing buildings on the street. The proposed residence is on the taller side of this average.

BUILDING FEATURES
10. The house includes a raised, 2' tall brick masonry foundation, which is compatible with historic foundations.

11. Using a centrally-located half-light door, flanked by the two square porch columns and accessible via a new concrete walkway from the sidewalk, the design successfully incorporates a strong sense of entry on the front façade.

12. Guidelines note that the shape and pitch of roofs on new construction should imitate the shape and pitch of roofs on neighboring existing houses or other houses of the same architectural style. A 3/12 pitch is less steep than many of the original houses in Fourth and Gill, though the 3/12 pitch is in line with the selected Prairie influence. The roof features very deep eave overhangs. Due to the height of the building and the low pitch of the roof, the roof slope will present significantly flatter at street level than shown on elevation drawings.

13. The design includes an 8'-2" deep, 21' wide front porch. The porch is large in massing and scale, compared to other porches in the neighborhood. The proposed square brick columns and solid wood porch railing enclosures are consistent with the contemporary interpretation of the Prairie style. While it does contribute visual interest and complexity to a visible side elevation, the two-story, 18' wide, 12' deep side porch is also significantly larger than most porches in the neighborhood.

MATERIALS
14. Asphalt shingles are an appropriate roofing material within the design guidelines. The final selection should use dark green, dark gray, black, or another dark color to simulate roof colors on original houses.

15. The half-light door is appropriate for the house's design and contributes additional transparency to the façade. The applicant should specify the door material and select a material compatible with the overall house and the design guidelines (preferably, wood).

16. Guidelines recommend wood materials instead of synthetic siding, noting that concrete composition planks may be appropriate for new construction as well. The submitted drawings propose wood siding, though the applicant has requested the option of HardiePlank and provided instances where fiber cement siding has been approved on new construction. In the opinion of staff, due to the overall size, massing, and style selected, the house will be sufficiently "contemporary in spirit" and does not need further material elements to differentiate from the historic context. Wood lap siding features a more historically appropriate exposure pattern and overlap than fiber cement siding, which can present visually as flat and lacking depth. Using wood lap siding, along with the proposed brick elements, will keep the new house consistent with the historic materials used along the street.

17. While paint colors are not directly in the HZC's purview, in the opinion of staff, red or brown brick masonry elements would be most compatible with the neighborhood context, avoiding current trends of white-washed brick and monochromatic facades.

18. The application includes a substantial amount of transparency, in the form of rectangular, single-light, metal casement windows. The left (southeast) elevation fronting E. Fourth Avenue also incorporates three pairs of French doors and 5' by 5' single-light picture windows. The Commission should discuss the appropriateness of the window form and the proportions of transparency, in relation to the proposed house design and neighborhood context.

19. The proposed house is identical in design to 700 Morgan Street. The Commission should discuss any variation in design necessary to differentiate the two houses.