Office complex-gym planned for old nursing home site

LYNN – Local developer David Potter’s latest mission is to transform the former Lenox Hill Nursing Home at 70 Granite St. into a new state-of-the-art office complex and fitness club.Potter presented his vision to the City Council Tuesday, but before it can be approved, he and attorney Sam Vitali will meet with local residents of the Stadium Condominiums and Ward 5 City Councilor Paula Mackin on March 20 to get input on the potential project.”The condo complex is not an actual abutter to the building because it isn’t located within 300 feet, but they can see it,” Potter said. “So I’ll be happy to talk to them about the project.”Three buildings make up the former 28-bed nursing home that currently covers over two acres with roughly 60,000 square feet of property.Potter’s plan would include tearing down one of the buildings to create extra parking, leaving behind about 40,000 square feet of usable space.Vitali said the plan would put the building back on the city’s tax roll, unlike prior institutional uses in the past.Zoned for industrial use, Potter requested a special permit to create a commercial corridor in its place.”I want to put offices up there and include a fitness club that will be open to the public,” he said. “I’m looking at bringing in solar and wind power industries to the office complex, and I am expecting commitments this week.”Potter said his idea for a gym component came from popular clubs that he knows of in New York that target boxing.”Sixty percent of the clientele are women because boxing builds self-esteem and gets the body in shape the fastest,” he said. “There will also be weights and the standard gym equipment.”The owner of Rivera Brothers Boxing on Columbia Avenue, Potter said boxing is also great for young kids to get involved in.”There is nothing like the gym anywhere else in the city and it would be a good addition,” he said.