The coveted student residences on Boston University’s Bay State Road add charm to campus and are considered part of a “historical district,” according to the City of Boston. But this historical status involves strict regulations on construction and renovation, including handicap accessibility.
“Bay State Road is one of those places where, in part, we have to be subject to zoning laws that require a look by the historic district commission of that area,” Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said.
The Boston Landmark Committee, created in 1975 as “Boston’s city-wide historic preservation agency,” explains how a property or district can be deemed historical.
“A designated Boston Landmark is a property (or a district comprised of multiple properties) with historic, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to the City and the Commonwealth, the New England region or the nation,” the BLC website states.
Bay State Road is part of the Back Bay West historical district, but not all individual residences on Bay State Road are granted “historical” status.
“It was decided by a vote of the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1979,” Boston Senior Preservation Planner and Bay State Road Historical District Coordinator William Young said about the decision to make Bay State Road part of the Back Bay West historical district.
Young said the BLC is only concerned with exterior elements of the buildings.
There are many specifications about the upkeep of the houses in “historical” districts, because the BLC monitors all renovations and changes.
“Once a property becomes a landmark, the BLC must review potential changes and issue a Certificate of Appropriateness before a building permit can be issued for proposed work,” the BLC website states.
BU must therefore refer to the BLC before they renovate any of the buildings, and the question of tearing down these properties to make way for newer, more up-to-date housing is out of the question, except for in extreme situations.
“Bay State Road, in part, is a historic district, so when you start to do things, most of the times on the outside of a building, they are in the permitting processes to do work,” Elmore said. “Part of what happens with the Historical District Commission is they also want to make sure that they preserve the integrity of the outside building and the surrounding area.”
In the efforts to “preserve this integrity” of Bay State Road, BU remodels a few brownstones each year. According to the BU Backdoor, a housing “secrets” website produced by Student Union representatives, “the university invests $1.5 million in two brownstones” each year.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said the renovations are done each year on a rotating basis. Work begins in the summer and usually takes four to five months.
“We have a good relationship with the commission,” he said. “If [Bay State] has any external work to be done, we will present rendering and drawings. It only takes two to three weeks [for approval]. In fact, the university has won a couple of awards for outstanding restoration and stewardship of Bay State Road properties.”
A potential problem with consulting the BLC about renovations is its policy on handicap ramps for accessibility.
“Any ramps required to provide access to the handicapped shall be located in the rear, if possible, and will be as unobtrusive as possible,” according to the Bay State Road, Back Bay West specific regulations report by the BLC.
Handicap ramps cannot be built in the front of Bay State residences and buildings in most situations because they alter the outside façade of the building. There are ramps in the back alley.
Disability Services Director Allan Macurdy said in an email “the university is required to meet a standard of programmatic accessibility,” meaning that handicapped students must have an equal opportunity to attend programs and events.
“There are many buildings with specific accessibility features on Bay State Road that are certainly not totally accessible under the code that would be applied to new buildings and certainly not accessible to individuals with all types of disabilities,” he said. “The reality is that some buildings cannot be made completely accessible without destroying the building itself.”
Macurdy said federal and state laws “do not require that all inaccessible buildings be made accessible,” because in some cases, that would be impossible. He said as a wheelchair user, he shares the sentiment with handicapped students that he would prefer for ramps to be in the front of the building, but he understands this is not always possible.
“There are some restrictions upon our ability to make modifications to the exterior of buildings based upon their protection under historic preservation law,” he said. “We do not have the luxury of deciding which of the two laws is more important. Historic preservation is an important social value embraced by individuals with and without disabilities. Having those values co-exist with inclusion and a commitment to access is possible and happens all the time.”