Sweetser House deal resurrected
Published on September 22nd, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - It was going to be demolished. It was going to be saved. It was going to Franklin Street. That deal collapsed. And now, the deal to move the historic Warren Sweetser House to developer Richard Johnson's property on Franklin Street has been resurrected and reconstructed.
Stoneham developer Joseph Cunningham had previously agreed to give Johnson the Main Street home if Johnson paid for the move and necessary renovations. The house, which was built in the 1840s, is sitting on land adjacent to the old Maynard Moore factory.
The men could not agree about who would control the property at the time of the move. Johnson wanted a bill of sale before the house was moved, and Cunningham did not want to give up ownership until he knew when exactly the house would be moved off his Main Street work site.
The property Cunningham is developing, the old Maynard Moore factory, belongs to the Bloomberg family, but the family gave Cunningham authority to do as he pleased with the Sweetser House.
Two weeks ago Johnson's attorney, Steven Cicatelli, and Cunningham confirmed that their publicized deal was not going to happen. Cunningham said he was considering another site. Historical Commission President Bee Russo was upset about the confusion but hopeful.
Then, on Thursday, Sept. 16, Cicatelli announced that Cunningham and Johnson had met and worked out their differences.
"We are going to use a mover that Mr. Cunningham knows," Cicatelli said.
Cunningham confirmed that the deal is alive.
"I met with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Cicatelli, and we are back on track," Cunningham said.
But he could not say when the move would occur.
"I had spoken with the movers," Cunningham said. "But they haven't returned my calls in several days. They could have a backlog."
After a moving date is finalized, movers will take the house from Main Street to Franklin Street at Johnson's expense, as originally proposed.
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