Swampscott historical board rejects train station renovation proposal

SWAMPSCOTT – The Historical Commission voted 4-2 to reject a developer’s proposal to renovate the Swampscott Train Station and donate money toward studying a town historic district in exchange for ending the nine-month demolition delay on Cap’n Jack’s Inn.”I think you guys are doing the wrong thing,” developer Bruce Paradise said at the commission’s Wednesday night meeting. “If we wait five more months – what we’re going to do, we already know that – what is the Town of Swampscott going to get? Is anybody going to jump up and renovate the Train Station? ? It hasn’t happened in 50 years.”But commission members expressed reservations about essentially giving up on saving one building to save another.”I’m really uncomfortable with the notion of ?horse trading,'” commission member Susan Munafo said.Developers Barry Turkanis and Paradise proposed this spring to replace the three buildings on Humphrey Street that make up Cap’n Jack’s Inn with a single building called The Concordia. The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a 15-unit, approximately 30,000 square-foot project in August. But the Historical Commission voted Nov. 1 to delay the demolition of the inn buildings by nine months, citing the buildings’ historical and architectural significance. Commission members said they hoped to work with developers during this time to either find a way to preserve the buildings or modify the plans to address concerns about their size and scale.Developers presented a letter to the board at its Jan. 10 meeting, asking that the delay be revoked. In return, developers proposed restoring and leasing the train station, and contributing $5,000 to research options for establishing historical districts in the town.Member Melanie Peterson on Wednesday urged supporting the proposal, as developers had repeatedly told the commission they planned to build the project as approved.”There’s not going to be negotiations, we’re fooling ourselves,” Peterson said.”It’s not going to change,” Paradise confirmed.But others echoed Munafo’s concerns.”I agree with all that having Cap’n Jack’s go down is going to break my heart,” Historical Commission Chairman Jean Reardon said. “But it’s also going to break my heart to see the train station go down. But I don’t see how we can justify accepting this offer.”Member Sylvia Belkin requested more details on what the train station renovation would include.Reardon, Munafo, Merry Glosband and Belkin voted against the proposal, while members Peterson and Angela Ippolito voted in favor.Paradise said the rejection surprised him.”This was a good deal for the residents of Swampscott,” he said.But several commission members said they were sad a resolution could not be reached.Reardon mentioned three old properties on Burrill Street that recently had been renovated.”People can do it and have done it in the past,” she said. “It’s a very sad night.”Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].