PEABODY — In a lengthy debate where tempers flared, the City Council reversed itself and approved a plan to turn a former coffee shop into eight low-cost studio apartments.
Earlier this month, William Skouras failed to win enough votes to replace his shuttered Peabody Coffee House with apartments. The rare reconsideration vote won by a single vote of City Council President Jon Turco.
Before the vote, Ward 3 Councilor James Moutsoulas, whose district includes the Walnut Street property, urged the four council members who earlier voted no, to rethink their vote.
“I’ve had lots of different feelings over this: anger, hurt, and frustration,” he said. “This is an issue of helping people and that’s why we run for public office.”
Moutsoulas blasted the four councilors who had opposed the measure including Turco, Ward 6 City Councilor Mark O’Neil, Ward 2 Councilor Peter McGinn, and City Councilor-at-Large Thomas Rossignoll, saying they hadn’t spent any time in Ward 3. But he later apologized.
McGinn, O’Neil, and Rossignoll said they were concerned about flooding on Walnut Street and could not support the plan.
Rossignoll said while he applauds and shares Moutsoulas’ passion to help the homeless, he is not convinced this is the right place for these units.
“Is it right to put anyone in a flood zone?” he asked. “Help the homeless? Absolutely. But putting people under water does not make sense.”
Ward 2 Councilor Peter McGinn also expressed concerns about flooding in the area.
“Flooding is a real concern,” he said. “I can’t support this.”
Turco said the implication he doesn’t care about the homeless because of his earlier vote was wrong.
“I do my homework,” he said. “This issue has been turned into a homeless issue, but it’s really a zoning issue.”
In the end, his vote for the special permit allows the project to proceed. He was convinced when the developer agreed to keep the units affordable until 2039.
Skouras bought the 5,460-square-foot property with his father, John J. Skouras, in 1997 under the name of Trustees of William Skouras for $85,000.
The second floor of the two-story, wood-frame building features a nine-unit rooming house. Most of them are leased through a deal with North Shore Community Action Program, a nonprofit whose mission is to help the needy achieve social and economic stability through services and education.
The restaurant closed two years ago and the space has been vacant ever since. Efforts to lease the ground floor commercial space were unsuccessful. As a result, Skouras is seeking permission to convert the retail space into housing.
The new apartments would feature hardwood floors, Italian tile in the kitchens and baths, real wood cabinets, and a bathroom for each unit. They are priced at $950, including utilities and Wi-Fi. That price is well below the average cost of studio apartments on the North Shore that can fetch as much as $1,400.
“I’m very grateful,” said Skouras following the vote.
