SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott Historical Commission has opted to delay demolition on White Court for nine months, which the development team says may have taken away their incentive to save the property and recreate it as a replica.
The Historical Commission held a largely attended public hearing last week on the proposed demolition of White Court, the former Marian Court College. The property, which was built in 1896, once served as President Calvin Coolidge’s summer White House.
The commission voted 4-2 in favor of imposing the nine-month demolition delay Tuesday night, citing the building’s historical significance. 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.
Centercorp principals Andrew Rose and Mark Klaman, along with Nick Meninno and Bruce Paradise, who all live in town, have said their plan is to redevelop the property into 18 oceanfront condominiums. The units, which would be restricted to those 55 and older, would be priced at $2.25 million and would be somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet.
“We were hoping for the compromise of a shorter delay to give us the incentive to follow through with what we clearly pointed out in the public hearing last week,” Meninno said. “We identified items that we’re preserving. We identified a list of items that have been nonexistent that we’re bringing back to the building.
“We were willing to bring those categories into focus in dialogue back and forth with the Historical Commission, but if the determination is a nine-month delay, then we have to sit back and kind of regroup and figure out the direction we want to take this because I think it’s fair to say they’ve taken our incentive to save White Court away.”
Meninno, of Meninno Construction, said he’s not certain their development plan would shift, but the Historical Commission has taken away their incentive to spend the cost to reconstruct, preserve items and reconstruct White Court in its current architecture, which is a significantly higher square-foot cost to recreate that type of construction.
He said the developers don’t know if, with the delay, they’re committed to following through with saving and recreating White Court, and then building it as a replica. Meninno said the team also doesn’t know if the delay could cause them to change their concept, as far as planning for the same number of condos.
“I don’t think we have any intention of selling the property,” said Meninno. “We’re still excited about it. We still consider it a terrific opportunity and the team is still very motivated to do something special up there, but our focus could shift.”
Sylvia Belkin, vice-chair of the Historical Commission, who voted in favor of the delay, said White Court is an iconic piece of property in Swampscott.
“I feel I’m here as a member of the Historical Commission, which I have been since its inception, because I don’t want to see that building torn down,” Belkin said. “I think passionately with all my heart that the history of that building and the people who have lived there and the architects who built it cannot be dismissed and that a wrecking ball should never be applied to that structure.”
The development team’s 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 previously said 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 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. There are add-ons on either side of the mansion, which includes classroom space. The development team plans to demolish those two additions.
The demolition delay was the third 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 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.
“I believe White Court is one of the most historically significant buildings in Swampscott,” said Richard Smith, a Historical Commission member who voted for the delay.
Smith said White Court meets the criteria for being placed on the National Historic Register, and has a history that is of national significance that the commission can’t turn a blind eye to.
Smith said the commission was being asked to allow for demolition without any documentation or plans presented by the developers. He said the members have heard from the developers about the infeasibility for renovating the original home into condos, but have not seen any plans proving that.
“We spent a lot of time on this,” said Klaman. “We feel we have an amazing plan, which will be a world class development and a feather in the cap of Swampscott as well … With all due respect, we don’t really feel that it’s appropriate to be lectured about how to develop a property.
“I think it’s great that Calvin Coolidge spent a summer there, but Calvin is not driving this train. He’s a passenger on this train and this train could stop and let him right off and there will be something else that could happen and it will be because this board creates that situation.”
Rose said the commission was focused on saving the building, whereas the developers were focused on the entire property, preserving the estate.
“We’re talking about trying to save the whole body. You’re trying to save the heart,” Rose said. “We’re saying the heart’s not salvageable.”
Justina Oliver, chairwoman of the Historical Commission, who voted for the delay, countered by saying the commission follows a bylaw — the commission was speaking specifically to the building because it’s what is defined for them to do. She said it’s her opinion that White Court deserves a much more intense look.
“I think it boils down to one fundamental difference,” said Meninno. “We want to save White Court by rebuilding White Court and repurposing some of the historically correct, architecturally correct items. The Historical Commission wants to preserve the existing structures or what’s left of it and we’re confident (through) our own team and the professionals we’ve brought in that it’s just not a possibility for our program.”
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.
This story has been updated.