West Concord Advisory Committee Hears Guitar Museum Design, Requests Street-Level Context Renderings

CARLISLE — April 1, 2026 — West Concord Advisory Committee hears debut presentation of Guitar Museum of New England design at 74 Commonwealth Avenue. Architect Brigitte Stanis of Inkstone Architects presented a three-story plus basement mixed-use building for property owners Jennifer and Wilson Schooneman, featuring a second-floor exhibition gallery, ground-floor retail and potential visitor center, third-floor offices, and a fully underground event space for up to 80 people for what Stanis called "living room concerts." The team plans to seek a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to set the building 22 feet back from the property line — double the 10-foot maximum allowed by zoning — to preserve a healthy native honey locust tree and create a public plaza. Members praised the design's community orientation but asked for a rendered street elevation showing neighboring buildings in scale context; public commenter Vicky Alani noted the facade may carry "one to two too many" material changes. No votes were taken. The committee also discussed the ongoing 166 Commonwealth Avenue application, which returns to the Planning Board on April 14, and held an extended debate about broadening its own charge and public outreach capacity amid what members described as West Concord's fastest development pace in recent memory.