Wellesley Historical Commission Votes to Block Demolition of Honeywell Street Colonial Revival Home

WELLESLEY — July 13, 2026 — Wellesley Historical Commission imposes 12-month demolition delay on Honeywell Street colonial revival home and continues Heckel Street review. The commission voted 6-0 at its July 13 meeting to find 53 Honeywell Street historically significant under Standard 2 of the town's demolition review bylaw, blocking any demolition permit until at least July 2027. Chair Michael Racette, who visited the site before the meeting, said the house is "a beautiful old building" despite a 1954 garage addition. The commission also voted 7-0 to approve a design waiver for a Tudor-style replacement home at 39 Emerson Road, conditioned on the applicant working with commission member Elizabeth Cahill to increase separation between two closely spaced side-elevation dormers. A fourth agenda item — a proposed new colonial at 14 Heckel Street — was continued 7-0 to August 10 after Cahill identified five conflicting eave heights in the submitted drawings and inconsistencies among the elevation, rendering, and roof plan, with neighbor Susan Johnson of 12 Heckel Street also raising drainage and massing concerns at the hearing.