Another face lift planned for Stoneham Square
Published on April 30th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - The Board of Selectmen unanimously backed that latest Stoneham Square revitalization project last week, stamping its approval on a proposal to erect a new building next to the Dow Block edifice.
According to Main Street attorney Steven Cicatelli, representing CNS Capital Properties, his clients plan to construct a three-story, brick-covered structure at 380-382 Main Street.
The recently acquired property, located behind the Dow Block building and close to the municipal lot sandwiched between Main Street and Central Street, was the longtime home to Brown's TV Repair and the old Main Street hair salon storefront.
The project, slated to be wrapped-up in the Fall of 2008, will eventually include 1,500 square feet of retail space and 3,000 square feet of office space. Storage room will be placed in the basement, while the current residential component will be abandoned.
According to Cicatelli, his clients, who also own the Dow Block building, purchased the site with the understanding that the antiquated structure would have to be rebuilt.
"There was a small store to the right that was already razed and that was touching the Dow Block," the local lawyer explained. "The intent was to buy it, understanding that after it was inspected, that it would to have it razed."
The building, located in the Central Business District, lacks onsite parking, much like a number of adjacent and nearby commercial businesses scattered across the Stoneham Square area.
The Planning Board issued a special permit to the developers to exempt them from the town's parking requirements.
"The lot is really a postage stamp. There is no room for parking there, nor has there ever been," Cicatelli said.
Before signing-off on the project, several Selectmen questioned how the building would be demolished, as it sits in-between several other downtown structures. The property also has its frontage along Main Street.
According to Cicatelli, because of the current layout of the building, it will likely need to be razed from the front to back - meaning the demolition will be staged from Main Street. However, the lawyer remained confident that that phase of the project could be accomplished within a day.
Selectman Robert Sweeney also asked for assurances that construction crews would respect the delicate parking situation in Stoneham Square - which has resulted the implementation of new two-hour parking restrictions in the entire area.
"Can you make any accommodations? We don't want them parking all their pick-up trucks in every spot in town," the veteran Selectman said.
"We understand it's a sensitive area, obviously," responded the Main Street attorney, who agreed to work-out some type of arrangement that limits any parking impacts.
The Stoneham Square area has been undergoing a great change in recent years. In 2004, local developer Joseph Cunningham kicked-off the downtown facelift by obtaining approvals for the Love's Furniture redevelopment.
The project, which removed one of the ugliest edifices in the commercial zone, entailed rehabbing the furniture store to accommodate 4,000 square feet of retail space topped by 48 luxury condominiums.
This January, local resident Frank Petrillo razed the former Highland Printing shop at 411 Main Street, situated in the heart of Stoneham Square, in order to make room for a new four-story building with 20,000 square feet of office and retail space.
In the same month, the Selectmen also granted a liquor license to a restaurateur hoping to open a high-end Asian eatery at the vacant D'Agostino's spot along Franklin Street.
Most recently, town officials granted permission for a Honey Dew Donut shop to open at 362 Main Street, the site of the old Blue Parrot Cafe.
The owners of the former Evergreen Florist building, which was ruined in a fire last October, also plan to rebuild that structure, although no formal proposal has been submitted to date.
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