Swampscott board reviews revised plans for Cap’n Jack’s site

SWAMPSCOTT – Developers presented a revised design for the condominium development proposed for the site of Cap’n Jack’s Inn to the Planning Board Monday.The new proposal eliminates a penthouse unit that the developer and planning board members said would reduce the size and scale of the proposed building.”I thought it was an improvement,” said Planning Board member Angela Ippolito. “I think that the board still felt that the massing was quite large, but (the board) felt that the redesigned plans were an improvement.”A development team including Bruce Paradise Construction and Parturk LLC and Architect Robert Zarelli of Marblehead originally proposed replacing the three buildings on Humphrey Street that make up Cap’n Jack’s Inn with an approximately 33,000-square-foot building containing 16 condominium units.The designs have been modified several times in response to concerns by both the planning board and the zoning board of appeals, which must grant variances and/or special permits for the project, about the proposal’s size and scale in relationship with the surrounding neighborhood.The revised plans presented to the planning board Monday eliminated the proposal’s penthouse unit, reduced the number of condo units from 16 to 15 and altered the roof line, said Ippolito. She believes the new design will let more light get through to the street and will reduce the size of the shadow that the proposed building will cast.Developer Barry Turkanis said in an e-mail Tuesday that the changes reduced the square footage of the building by approximately 8 percent.Board member Sylvia Belkin, however, said that she remained opposed to the building’s size.”I understand that developers want to maximize their investment,” she said. “But I’m thinking of it on behalf of the town, and I think that the three Cap’n Jacks buildings are meaningful and historic.”She said that she preferred “adaptive-reuse” of the buildings, where the existing structures would be converted into condominium units.”That’s the ideal way to approach it,” Belkin said. “It may not be the most financially rewarding for developers, but that’s important land.”She also said that she was shocked that the meeting’s agenda did not list the revised proposal.She said this led to a “very one-sided discussion,” as opponents of the proposed building who had been at other meetings did not appear.”It’s about time that the community needs to let the developers know what they want and what they feel is compatible,” Belkin said, bemoaning the lack of notice. “It’s a major project, it impacts Humphrey Street, which is the center of the community.”The zoning board of appeals will continue its hearing on the proposal at its June 22 meeting, said Ippolito.