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

WELLESLEY -- July 13, 2026, Wellesley Historical Commission imposes 12-month demolition delay on Hunnewell Street colonial revival home and continues Heckle Street review. The commission voted 6-0 at its July 13 meeting to find 53 Hunnewell 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 Heckle 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 Heckle Street also raising drainage and massing concerns at the hearing.