Lynn official decries Happy Valley Automotive demolition

LYNN – Like Ernie’s Harvest Time, Happy Valley Automotive has been reduced to a pile of debris but members of the Historical Commission feel things might have been different if a little early intervention was entertained.”The whole thing is disheartening,” said Katerina Panagiotakis Koudanis, who tried to rally residents and historical-minded folk to save the Boston Street garage.Koudanis argued that the building was historically valuable because it was the last remnant of the old Boston Street Highway and was designed by a well known architect. She had hoped that it could be moved or somehow incorporated into the plan for a big box pharmacy, which is what’s planned for the area.That might have happened had the Historical Commission been brought into the loop on the project from the earliest stages but Koudanis said that doesn’t happen and it’s frustrating.”If the ordinance we thought was up to date was actually up to date the Historical Commission would have had the chance to walk through the building and make recommendations,” she said.Commission member Calvin Anderson isn’t convinced an ordinance is needed but he said the demolition does illustrate the need for better communication between the commission, the City Council and the developer starting at the earliest stages of a project. He was quick to point out that the Historical Commission doesn’t equal anti-progress or anti-development.”All we want to do is offer advice,” he said. “Nothing that dictates policy, slows growth or stops development, just pro bono advice early in the project, before it gets too late.”The commission did not learn of the planned demolition of Happy Valley Automotive until a legal ad announcing the intention was published. By that time money had been spent on plans, studies and architectural drawings and no one is going to want to risk having to change them, Anderson said.”If we had a dialogue early on they might have had options,” he added. “We’ve seen this happen before. Once the system gets going nothing is going to stop it.”Anderson said bringing the commission in is a matter of having another set of eyes on a project and possibly preserving a bit of the city’s history, “because once it’s gone, it’s gone.”Koudanis said losing buildings like Happy Valley chips away at the city’s identity.”Lynn is a big city but it’s also a hometown to a lot of people,” she said. “It’s a place of memories and meaning and it shouldn’t just be demolished in an eye blink.”Koudanis said she would have liked and expected a public hearing to be held regarding the demolition but because the developer, Tropic Star, bought the properties, there was no requirement for a public hearing.It also bothers her that the building was listed in that state’s historical inventory of properties considered an asset to the commonwealth.”There are protections for buildings like that if the local municipality has a process in place,” she said. “Everyone was well aware of the historic value ? we can’t just keep tearing down places with character.”