The long wait for a new Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) office on the North Shore may be over.
The state has reached a tentative agreement to open an RMV office this summer at Danvers Crossing, the shopping plaza on Route 1 at the Route 114 exchange, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
Following inquiries from state Rep. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) and The Item, a MassDOT spokeswoman said the RMV and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, the state’s real estate agency, are in the final stage of discussions with Keypoint Partners, the property’s management company.
Under the terms of the deal, a vacant 7,488-square-foot vacant building in the strip mall would be renovated to accommodate Registry needs. The project is expected to take up to seven months months to complete. The cost of the lease will not be released until the details are finalized, the state said.
Through the spokeswoman, Registrar Erin Deveney said they have been searching for a new location since the summer of 2016, when the office at the Liberty Tree Mall closed. The RMV is hopeful that this process will go smoothly, she said.
This could bring resolution to the lack of a Registry office north of Boston. At the time, the RMV closed at Liberty Tree, they promised to add staff and expanded hours at the Revere and Wilmington branches and vowed to increase collaborative relationships with AAA so registry services can be handled at those locations, and encouraged customers to take care of some needs online.
The Danvers Crossing site was considered last fall when the plaza went into foreclosure.
Walsh said his district has waited long enough for the new Registry.
“This is going on two years and North Shore residents have not received the same level of service as the three other sections of the commonwealth and we need to fix that,” he said. “I won’t be satisfied until we have a signed lease and cut the ribbon at the opening. This is one of the most urgent customer service matters on the North Shore.”
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