Historic Districts Commission approves compromise sign for Stony Brook Market

SUDBURY -- May 1, 2025, Sudbury Historic Districts Commission ends four-month Stony Brook Market sign fight with gold-leaf compromise. Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a flat black aluminum sign with a maroon border and real 24-karat gold-leaf lettering for the Hudson Road plaza, after rejecting raised-acrylic options. Sign maker Mark Evangelis of Gemini Sign Company priced a fully carved version above $12,000 and the approved version at roughly half that; owner Fred Kasoff said the project had become "very, very expensive" after multiple revisions. Chair Anuraj Shah said the board had already stretched its standards by accepting a sign "larger than we typically approve." The commission also approved 50 percent design documents for a cedar shingle reroof at the town-owned Hosmer House at 299 Old Sudbury Road, split 4-1 on a chicken coop and greenhouse at 279 Old Sudbury Road, voted unanimously to oppose Article 54's proposed cut to the CPA surcharge from 3 percent to 1.5 percent, and unanimously supported Article 43 authorizing a long-term lease of two former MBTA depots.