Commission approves access plan for Town Hall balcony

Published by The Boston Globe

The Needham Historical Commission Tuesday night approved changes to the Town Hall renovation plans that would allow disabled and other people to use the balcony in the building’s historic auditorium for the first time in years.

The vote serves as a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen as they make the final decision on the renovation plans at their next meeting Aug. 17.

The auditorium balcony has been closed because it is only accessible from one set of stairs, and building codes require another point of access and handicap access, said Gloria Greis, commission secretary.


The $18 million Town Hall project includes restoration of the old section of the building and the building of a new addition. The addition will have a handicapped-accessible elevator that will go up to the level of the balcony.

The town is proposing to link the elevator to the balcony through a short, handicapped-accessible bridge. To provide a door to the bridge the commission approved punching a hole in the balcony wall, disturbing about six feet of a cornice moulding that runs the length of the historic auditorium. They specified, however, that the detail be disturbed as little as possible and saved for other potential uses.

Creating access to the balcony would provide 100 additional seats in the auditorium, allowing the possibility of holding Town Meeting in Town Hall. The Planning Board would need to review the proposal to make sure there is enough parking for 100 additional seats, said Rick Hardy, historical commission member. Hardy said he thinks having Town Meeting at Town Hall would be good for local businesses.

“We never like to see extra holes, but we have to balance that with functionality,” said Carol Boulris, commission chair.

The Town Hall renovation is $3.7 million under budget, said Richard Creem, member of the Needham Finance Committee. Creating the balcony catwalk will cost $350,000, unless the original staircase leading to the balcony needs to be rebuilt to code, he said.

The stairs are one-fourth of an inch too short, but the project is applying for a waiver because the amount is so small, said Creem. If the stairs need to be rebuilt, they will cost an additional $125,000 to $140,000, he said. The Finance Committee will hold a special meeting to consider the catwalk proposal, he said.

The Selectmen asked the Historical Commission, the Finance Committee and the Community Preservation Committee to consider the proposal before making their vote, said Hardy. Selectmen must vote soon, however, for the project to fit into the current construction plan.

The Town Hall restoration and the construction of an addition for town offices is currently on schedule and planned to be completed by September 2011 in time for the Needham Tercentennial, said George Kent, chair of the Permanent Public Building Committee.

The Town Hall dome is now being covered with gold leaf, and Needham residents should expect to see the completed dome by the end of August, said Kent. The building committee will hold a ceremony to place a weathervane on top of the dome sometime that week, he said.

In celebration of Needham’s 300th birthday, the Tercentennial Committee will hold an event in the new Town Hall in November 2011, said Bill Tilburg, co-chair of the committee.