SWAMPSCOTT — The owner of more than a dozen North Shore strip malls has added President Calvin Coolidge’s Summer White House to its portfolio.
Known these days as the White Court Estate, the 28-room, oceanfront mansion and former Marian Court College on Littles Point Road was purchased by CC White Court LLC, an entity of Centercorp Retail Properties, on Monday for $2.75 million, according to the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds.
The 6.2-acre property is assessed at $5.8 million and includes two buildings and green space. It was built in 1895.
Centercorp Principals Andrew Rose and Mark Klaman, who live in town, said they are exploring development options for the property.
“We are still working on a plan,” Rose said. “We will do what’s right for the neighborhood.”
Alice Poltorick, a spokeswoman for Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Northeast Community Inc., the seller, said plans for historic home include age-restricted housing.
Sean Fitzgerald, town administrator, said there’s a need for senior housing in Swampscott.
“The town’s demographics are changing, residents are getting older and they’re looking for more options to stay here,” he said. “But I want to reserve judgment until we see more details from the new owners.”
More importantly, he said, officials want to make sure the property is preserved.
“This is an iconic structure that deserves special attention,” Fitzgerald said.
The sale of the mansion comes on the heels of a failed attempt to convert the home into an Orthodox Christian monastery with an on-site brewery. Officials opposed the brewery, arguing zoning bylaws does not allow it.
Historians say Coolidge chose Swampscott as a vacation spot. The former Massachusetts governor liked the waterfront location a few miles from Beacon Hill. Typically, he and First Lady Grace Coolidge stayed the summer and they could be seen walking their white collie on the grounds.
