PHOTO BY STEVE FREKER
Officials watch the start of demolition of the 40-year-old building.
By STEVE FREKER
MALDEN — With a resounding crash of a cherry picker demolition truck knocking the first bricks down from one of its most well-known fixtures, the city bade goodbye to “The Beast that Ate Pleasant Street.”
Malden Mayor Gary Christenson on Friday joined a group of city staff and officials, local state legislators, developers and financiers and Mass. Secretary of Housing and Development Jay Ash for a historic ceremony commemorating the start of the demolition process of the 40-year-old former Malden Government Center building,
“When we began this project with an idea years ago, it was perhaps a situation where you could not see the forest because of the trees. Today we are going to see some bricks come down and it will be very clear we have reached our goal,” Christenson said. “We are so grateful to each and every person and official at the state and local level who has contributed to this project, which will transform and revitalize our community for years to come.”
The six-story edifice, built in 1977, will be razed, along with the former police station to its west side, and replaced with a $100 million-plus transit-oriented, mixed-use development that will reopen Malden Square’s primary retail street — Pleasant Street — and reconnect it with the Malden Center MBTA Station.
The “Jefferson at Malden Center” will encompass the property which served as Malden City Hall and the Malden Police Station at 200 Pleasant St. Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG) purchased the city-owned properties and also the First Church in Malden at 184 Pleasant St.
According to the Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA) officials, the project is a “ground up development planned for 320 residential units in two buildings, a 45,000 square foot office condominium shell (to be built out by the city for a new City Hall), more than 22,500 square feet of ground floor retail and approximately 330 parking spaces. The buildings will be connected by a sky bridge. The development will have 30,000 square feet of amenities for its residential tenants including a pool, three-season deck and a yoga lawn. It will be the new “front door” to Pleasant Street.”
Ash, who has been instrumental in shepherding the last steps of state grant assistance to help fund the project through Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, called the project, “the definition of a bold move to create revitalization in the downtown area.
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“I was just with Gov. Baker today and we were talking about this project today and we agreed that other communities in the Commonwealth should be bold and follow the example Malden has set and be bold,” Ash said. “Malden and Mayor Christenson must be congratulated for having the vision initially, and then having the courage to see it through.
“This is a perfect example of how a community can truly make a difference in downtown revitalization,” Ash said. “It is no small task or decision to knock down and replace your City Hall and creating such a historic mixed-use development in its place. Not only is Malden walking the walk, they are literally ‘knocking the knock’ by tearing this building down.”
Ash also praised the efforts of former Mayor Richard Howard, who also attended Friday and current Mayor Christenson in their work on this project, which essentially began eight years ago when Christenson sat on the City Council.
“Mayor Howard fought the first fights — good fights — to get this project started and laid the groundwork for finding the resources to see it through. Then it was Gary Christenson’s vision about making Malden what you all want it to be,” Ash said. “Malden is doing something here that every other community wants to do or should be doing in their downtown. Trust me, other cities are in awe of what Mayor Howard and Mayor Christenson have accomplished here.”
Malden City Council President Peg Crowe spoke on behalf of the present and former City Council members, whom the mayor lauded for their diligence. “By taking down this leaky, drafty, outdated building, we will be replacing it with a truly mixed-development and breathe fresh, new air into our downtown. We on the Council look forward to helping write the next chapter in Malden city history.”
Sandi Silk, vice president for development at Jefferson Apartment Group, said it is “the beginning and the future of Malden Center.”
“The mix of uses here is a first — anywhere,” Silk said. “It’s taken a long time to get here, but the short 3½ years since we finalized the deal, we are very pleased with the benefits that have already begun. Reconnecting Pleasant Street will dramatically change how residents and visitors perceive and use Malden, how they shop and dine in this community. Reinvigorating and creating diversified retail mix will pay dividends long into the future for Malden.”