Weston Historical Commission endorses residential conversion of Case Estates barn

WESTON — August 26, 2025 — Weston's Historical Commission unanimously backed a plan to convert the Case Estates barn into a residence and sell all three Case Estates structures as separate properties. Co-Chair Phyllis Halpern and members including Alfred Aydelott and Henry S. Stone, Jr. debated a proposed loosening of the barn's interior preservation deed restriction — previously negotiated to protect historic fabric — saying the priority had shifted to finding a buyer who would actually reuse the building. Architect Patrick Ahearn's office has produced renderings showing a six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom home inside the barn with the exterior unchanged, and Stone noted a zoning complication requiring resolution under the town's flexible subdivision bylaw before three primary residences can occupy one parcel. The commission approved four separate property applications at the same meeting — a two-story addition at 8 Derby Lane, a door replacement at 44 Chestnut Street, a garage demolition at 284 Glenn Road, and a window replacement at 10 Windsor Way — and Halpern reported that supporters gathered more than 151 petition signatures in four days to place a Weston Depot funding request on the town meeting warrant as Article 8, after the Select Board declined to release the remaining $18,750 of a 2022 appropriation on conflict-of-interest grounds.