To the editor:

I applaud Town Meeting’s decision to purchase the Hawthorne by the Sea property and the Select Board’s efforts to acquire the St. John Church parking lot on Humphrey Street. I also want to recognize the Hawthorne Reuse Committee for submitting thoughtful, well-reasoned proposals for the Hawthorne site and the potential use of the church parking lot. The future of the Humphrey Street parcels have the potential to be truly transformative for Swampscott.

All of these positive developments come with a single, important caveat: The existing Hawthorne Restaurant building should not be repurposed; it should be demolished. While the structure functioned as a restaurant, it has never been an example of distinguished architecture. Swampscott deserves better.

The waterfront view from this site is extraordinary. If the building is razed and the land graded and seeded, residents and visitors would immediately appreciate how remarkable the cliff-top vista of King’s Beach and the City of Boston truly is. Any use of the site other than as a restaurant will require rebuilding, remodeling, or substantial rehabilitation — costs that could be better invested elsewhere. Even interim uses risk becoming permanent by habit and complacency.

One proposal from the Hawthorne Reuse Committee that is viable is a water-edge park combined with off-street parking and modest commercial buildings along Humphrey Street. This plan delivers public open space, parking relief, potential rental income, and a clearer vision for what downtown Swampscott could become. There may be other viable plans, but the Committee’s proposal preserves the site’s most valuable asset — the cliff-edge view — while creating opportunities for thoughtful, future-focused development.

This community needs leadership with vision and creativity to make Swampscott the extraordinary gateway to Cape Ann it can be. The Town should avoid endorsing interim uses that will be difficult to reverse. Although demolishing the Hawthorne building and grading the land will carry an upfront cost, it is an investment that will pay dividends: The public will be able to see and appreciate the site’s natural assets, and future development decisions will be made from a position of clarity rather than compromise.

Tear the building down now, before it is reused for other purposes and complacency sets in.

Andrew D. Epstein

Swampscott