VFW closes its doors on Hancock St., Offices are proposed
Published on July 18th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - According to Stoneham attorney Charles Houghton, the VFW doesn’t have enough money to cut its lawn.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 620 at 89 Hancock St. is shutting down and selling to Houghton’s clients John Macone and John Gardener, both Stoneham residents and business owners. As part of the deal Macone and Gardner are covering the VFW’s outstanding bills.
“The VFW building is gone but the organization is still here,” said District Commander Frank Geary of Summer Street. (The VFW building is still standing, but it has been closed.) Meetings will continue at the Stoneham Elks Lodge on Main Street.
Geary added that the VFW will have some money after the sale. “We don’t know how much,” he said. Other locations in Stoneham have been considered, but nothing is definite.
Macone and Gardner have invited neighbors to a meeting in the Main Hall of the VFW at 7:30 p.m. on July 19.
On July 24 Houghton will go before the Selectmen at Town Hall for a site plan hearing. His clients want to tear down the VFW building and build office space for their businesses. Macone owns Powderhouse Plumbing and Gardner runs Gardner & Lynch Electrical Services. Additional office space may be rented. Neighbors have heard talk of a three- or four-story building. Geary said VFW members plan to attend the meeting.
The phone number for Gardner and Lynch Electrical Services was listed as the contact number for the July 19 meeting. A message left by The Independent was not returned before press time.
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