ROWLEY — The fate of the 1860 Greek Revival home at 34 Pleasant St. is pending a walk-through of the property by Rowley Historical Commission board members, as was decided at last week's Historical Commission meeting. The commission wants full consideration taken about restoring the condemned home, while the owner wants to raze the house and build a new home.
Peter Dalzell, the Rowley resident who has owned the property since 2009, and Ken Murphy, a Rowley builder interested in building a new home on the property, came before the board on Wednesday evening. They have proposed building a new 1,800-square-foot, single-amily home, either a Colonial or ranch-style home, on the property, instead of restoring what remains of the 1860-era home.
"I can appreciate the historical value of the home as I live in my own restored Victorian house," said Murphy. "But this house is just too far gone and it is not feasible to try to restore it." Murphy estimated that restoring it would cost upwards of $600,000, while building a new home would be about $200,000.
By all accounts the house is falling in. The once majestic two-family, one side of which was condemned in the 1970s and the other side in 1999, now has gaping holes in the roof, second floors that have caved in and is home to a variety of different critters. Selectman Dick Cummings, who also is on the Historical Commission, said that when the house was condemned, town selectmen discussed demolishing it, but the cost (about $66,000) was prohibitive.
"We have put up with the condition of this building for more than 20 years," said Marcella Boyd, who lives at 39 Pleasant St. Boyd expressed frustration that while arrangements had been made a couple times for the Historical Commission to view the property, they never did visit, holding up the decision-making process. "There's a lot of concern about what will happen if the house is torn down — that all the mice, ants, termites and more will come to our homes," she said, speaking for neighbors Roger Merry and Carol Melcher as well.
"The downtown has gone through an amazing renovation and redevelopment of historic property," said Sara Bourque, chairwoman of the commission, speaking of the current project that is restoring the historical properties across from the town's post office. "We want to keep that spirit alive and properly evaluate the value of this 1800s building treasure."
Bourque also noted that the board had not made site visits yet due to a snowstorm and family responsibilities regarding a funeral.
"Our mission statement and mandate is to look at history, and I can't see demolishing the building without taking a look at it to see if it can be restored by someone," said commission member Michael Harney.
Local architect and Railroad Avenue resident David Jaquith said, "We have worked hard to have this kind of character in Rowley. To put something smaller in place of this house is not appropriate."
Commission member Frank P. Todd added, "These things can be saved, but it's a matter of paying attention to it ... we've been there and done that ... we can do it again."
While confirming the house is a definite eyesore, Sheila and Dan Clark, who live on Pleasant Street, said, "Given the history on Pleasant Street, we shouldn't rush into just putting something else up. We should take the time to see both sides."
And Roger Merry, another Pleasant Street resident who has lived in town for 61 years, said, "If we tore the house down tomorrow, we wouldn't be rushing into anything." Merry worked for years on his own time on the upkeep of the outside of the property, such as mowing the lawn, in order to keep the hazardous situations at a minimum.
The Historical Commission is expected to make a walk-through of the property within the next two weeks and then re-address the issue at a subsequent meeting.
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