SWAMPSCOTT — The future of White Court, which once served as President Calvin Coolidge’s Summer White House, was debated on Tuesday night, and the planned project could be facing yet another delay.
The Swampscott Historical Commission held a largely attended public hearing on the proposed demolition of White Court, the former Marian Court College — residents packed a small meeting room at Swampscott High School on Tuesday night to sound off about the plans. The commission will decide next Tuesday if it wants to impose a nine-month demolition delay on the project.
Centercorp principals Andrew Rose and Mark Klaman, along with Nick Meninno and Bruce Paradise, who all live in town, plan on redeveloping the property into 18 oceanfront condominiums. The units, which will be restricted to those 55 and older, will be priced at $2.25 million and will be somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet.
The initial plan was for the existing White Court mansion to be converted into six condominiums and two more buildings on either side of it with six each. But Meninno, of Meninno Construction, previously told The Item the condition of the building’s foundation has caused plans to shift from preserving and converting the existing mansion to taking apart and reconstructing it, preserving as much of White Court as possible.
Meninno has said that the only chance to save White Court is to save components of the building and carefully reconstruct it, almost like a replica of the original mansion, which was built in 1896. There are add-ons on either side of the mansion, which includes classroom space. The initial plan to demolish those additions remains the same.
“We look at this as a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Meninno said Tuesday. “When we first purchased the property and for some time after, it was our intention to use the bones of the structure. It was always our intention to develop it into the condominiums, and fairly quickly it was condominiums within the existing White Court building and then the two additional buildings and recreating the courtyard with the underground parking.
“After much investigation and time at the property … we realized with the abuse the building has taken from the Sisters of Mercy for the last 70 years, we determined from foundation to the exterior siding and the foundation system, the building is coming down. We’re here to ask the Historical Commission and the group to work with us and allow us to preserve, save, repurpose some of the components … in the reconstruction of White Court.”
But some residents who attended the public hearing said they weren’t convinced the existing building couldn’t be saved and restored.
Jer Jurma, a member of the town’s Historic District Commission, said White Court is a property that should have been on the National Historic Register.
“I don’t fully understand why the frame has to come down to the ground and everything built back up,” said Jurma. “I’m not feeling it. I really sort of sense that the value of that original building standing there is a national cause. This isn’t a Swampscott cause. This isn’t a North Shore cause. It’s a national cause.
“If I want to see the Eiffel Tower, I don’t go to Las Vegas. I go to Paris.”
Ken Shutzer, a Swampscott resident and local attorney, echoed those thoughts.
“You can’t rebuild history,” said Shutzer. “History is intrinsic. I think that this board (Historical Commission) was charged with preserving history. History is not something that looks similar. History is the real McCoy. And the real McCoy sometimes has warts. The real McCoy has issues that need to be fixed. And it may not look as good as something that’s created from scratch.
“I don’t think it’s our purpose to try to propose a project that might mirror reality when it in fact it is not reality. That building that was constructed and the history that went with that building can never be replicated. When you take the heart and soul of the building away and that’s what’s going to happen, it’s something else.”
Lisa Mausolf, an architectural historian, who worked with Historical Commission from 2015-16 on a historic survey, which focused on Humphrey Street, Puritan Road and Littles Point Road, was the night’s guest speaker. She said stepping into White Court was the highlight of the project for her, calling it a property that leaves an imprint and is not easily forgotten.
“I think the demolition of this amazing property would be a tragedy,” she said. “I’ve been doing this job for over 30 years and I can’t say there are too many buildings I feel this strongly about.”
The public hearing was the second step of a three-part process triggered by the development team’s (CC White Court LLC) application for a full demolition permit through the town’s building inspector.
The town’s preservation of historically significant buildings, also known as the demolition delay bylaw requires the building inspector to to notify the Historical Commission when a request is received for the demolition of a building 75 years or older.
The first step was for the Historical Commission to deem the property historically significant, which it did in February. The commission then had 45 days to hold a public hearing. Following the hearing, the commission has 10 days to vote on a 9-month demolition delay.
If the board does not vote to impose the delay, the developers can move forward with the proposed demolition. The purpose of the delay, is to allow the commission, the owner and the community to explore ways to preserve the property or mitigate the effects of demolition, according to the Historical Commission.
Tom Saltsman, of Saltsman Brenzel, a Boston-based architecture firm working with the developers, said the team’s plan includes three aspects: saving the existing features that be reinstalled and restored, recreating lost features no longer on the building, and saving existing features for possible reuse.
Meninno previously said in order to save White Court, the developers need to go in and categorize and take apart and restore any windows, certain lighting, some doors, possibly some flooring, fireplace mantles and some fireplace surroundings. He said the plan is to take any historical architecture of components that have survived abuse over the years and remove, restore and repurpose them when reconstructing White Court.
“We want to go in the direction of White Court of the 1920s,” Saltsman said. “The effort this owner is willing to go for the preservation or at least for the preservation of the historical character of this building is pretty significant. This is not just a tear down development project. But it’s also a significant nod in the direction of preserving the character of what was originally there and enhancing it in many ways because much of it is missing.”
Historical Commission members did not indicate how they would be voting next Tuesday, but a couple of members did share their thoughts. Richard Smith, a member, said the Historical Commission would be remiss to not take every effort to see that the character of the property remains.
“The Historical Commission knows that White Court has played an important part in Swampscott’s social and architectural history,” said Sylvia Belkin, vice-chair of the commission. It has played a significant role in American presidential history and as a valuable part of our local heritage. It should be rehabilitated and preserved.”
The 28-room, oceanfront mansion on Littles Point Road was purchased by CC White Court LLC, an entity of Centercorp Retail Properties in December for $2.75 million, according to the Essex Registry of Deeds.
The 6.2-acre property, which was acquired from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Northeast Community, Inc., is assessed at $5.8 million and includes two buildings and green space. It was built in 1896 and served as the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge in 1925.