Weston Commission Votes 6-1 to Delay Demolition of 1919 Willis-Designed House

WESTON — November 15, 2022 — Weston Historical Commission votes 6-1 to delay demolition of a house designed by noted local architect Harold B. Willis Sr. The commission imposed a 12-month demolition delay on 49 Concord Road, a 1919 home Willis built for himself using architectural fragments salvaged from a condemned Sudbury house, after owners Bill and Leslie Mayo Smith testified they had spent $80,000 on top of a $1,612,500 purchase price and faced an estimated $1 million restoration bill. Member Alfred Aydelott said he believed a planning workaround might allow the owners to achieve their core goals — a separate driveway, a single house on the 2.44-acre parcel, and cost recoupment — while saving the structure, and asked for "a few weeks, not months" to test the idea. Member John Thompson cast the lone no vote, calling it a gesture of recognition for the owners' efforts rather than opposition to preservation. The commission also voted unanimously to find the barn at 42 Summer Street and the house at 20 Maple Road historically significant, advancing both to December 13 public hearings.