SWAMPSCOTT — The Planning Board on Monday reviewed early plans from a new developer proposing to redevelop the vacant Glover Estate property in the Vinnin Square area, a project that would preserve the original historic Glover House while demolishing the property’s more recent additions and constructing new multi-family housing on the site.
Representatives from National Development, a firm based in Newton, presented a pre-application proposal for the Salem Street Property located in a multi-family overlay zoning district. The concept calls for three residential buildings totaling about 140 units, similar to a previously approved project on the site that never moved forward.
National Development Vice President of Development Ryan Murphy shared the firm’s plans with the Planning Board. He said the company has made some changes to their initial proposal, the most significant of which is incorporating the preservation of the historic house.
“Through conversations with the historic commission, through conversations with the Town, we’ve learned about the significance of the Glover House,” Murphy said. “We respect the significance of the Glover House.”
The General Glover Farmhouse was built in the 18th century, sometime before the Revolutionary War. Its original owner, William Browne, was a classmate of John Adams at Harvard College and, after being expelled from then-Salem for being a British loyalist, would go on to become the Governor of Bermuda.
The property itself is divided between three municipalities. Most of its 2.4 acres lie in Swampscott, while a portion is in Marblehead, and a very small fraction is in Salem. This requires developers to meet with the Planning Boards of both Swampscott and Marblehead, and adhere to the zoning codes and preferences of each, which is no small task.
Members of the Swampscott Planning Board addressed some of the difficulties in zoning during the meeting. Board member Jer Jurma shared some concerns about the zoning area’s guidance on roofing, which calls for all roofs to be pitched instead of flat. A flat roof, he said, might assuage some of the board’s concerns about the height of the building.
The proposed building would be one of the tallest buildings in Swampscott, with some parts of the three proposed apartment buildings reaching five stories.
“The height makes me very uncomfortable,” Planning Board Chair Ted Dooley said. “This is going to be the second tallest building in the town of Swampscott, second only to a 100 year old elementary school that’s about to be a hotel.”
Murphy said the increased height was a direct result of the decision to preserve the original Glover house, which the Planning Board agreed was a development challenge. Murphy and other representatives from the project spoke on the design, which they say is intended to reflect a “New England aesthetic,” incorporating varied rooflines, materials and building forms to fit the surrounding community.
The Glover Estate has been the subject of development proposals for several years. A previous plan by Leggat McCall Properties for a similarly sized residential complex had gotten an initial approval from the Planning Board, but progress was stalled when the Swampscott Historical Commission successfully passed a demolition delay on the property, at which point the developers stepped away from the project.
The National Development group is in talks of an arrangement with the Town’s Historical Commission. Preliminary discussions have included the development firm extending a potential 99-year ground lease to the historic commission or some other public authority.
The goal, Murphy said, was for the Historical Commission to “renovate and operate the Glover in whatever way they see fit… as a historic site, as a museum, as whatever they decide.”
That agreement would likely include a construction timeline, where any renovations or updates performed by the Historical Commission would need to be completed concurrently or before the construction on the housing development is completed.
The Historical Commission would also be responsible for privately funding any of the construction to the original building itself. When the Leggat McCall group was planning to demolish the property, the commission started a “Save the Glover” funding campaign, which is still active and has raised nearly $500,000.
Due to increased attendance and the weight of the subject matter, Dooley allowed for public hearing time during the New Development presentation, although it was not required as no formal applications were being made. During the public comment time, Historical Commission Chair Nancy Schultz spoke.
“I just want to take a moment to thank National Development and the Planning Board for your work on this project and for your creativity in trying to find ways to preserve this site of major historic importance,” she said. “We are very grateful to all of you.”
National Development officials said they plan to continue refining the proposal and meet with officials in Marblehead before submitting a formal application in several weeks. If the project moves forward, developers estimated the construction timeline at 18 to 24 months once approvals are secured.
