Bradstreet Stays For Now: What's Next?

The North Andover Historical Commission dealt a blow to Hearthstone Realty and the Board of Selectmen Monday with a 4-2 vote to impose a demolition delay on the Bradstreet School building.

Commission Chair Kathlee Szyska said the decision was made because of the commission's responsibility to protect the town's history.

"So we would not be doing our jobs if we've had the discussion, if we deemed this building to be preferably preserved, at least the exterior of it... we would not be doing our if we just threw up our hands and said, 'Well we can't do anything about it, we're just going to let it go."

That blow is temporary, with the moratorium being for the next 12 months. And Town Manager Andrew Maylor said Hearthstone -- which won the right to purchase the property after selectmen considered various proposals -- is willing to wait that 12 months.

In fact, Maylor noted, the planning stages of the Hearthstone project may take several months anyway, so the commission's delay may not have much impact on the project in the end.

"We'll see how things proceed, but at this point it's not changing anything relative to the outcome of the Bradstreet sale.

Szyska said the vote was to show developers that they will have to deal with the Historical Commission when setting eyes on historic buildings in town.

So what next? Mostly just waiting.

If Hearthstone sticks it out, then next early Sept. 2014 they can turn the Bradstreet building into rubble.

If Hearthstone pulls out of the project, then the property sale goes back to the RFP phase, with selectmen accepting and reviewing proposals for the property. Those new proposals may or may not include plans to demolish the Bradstreet School building.

In yet another twist, Victor Sheen of Oakgrove Residential Inc. attended the meeting and said his firm is ready and willing to jump in and also keep the building standing if the Hearthstone deal collapses. Oakgrove had submitted a proposal that would have kept the Bradstreet building standing, and selectmen deemed that plan a second place option if for some reason Hearthstone declined.

But now that the deal with Hearthstone is finalized, for Oakgrove to be considered in the event Hearthstone pulls out, they would have to submit a new proposal with other applicants.

In a nutshell, aside from the demolition delay, the Historical Commission has no legal recourse to save the building long-term, and if Hearthstone sticks with the project, the building will come down in a year.

The Bradstreet School costs the town $40,000 to $50,000 a year to maintain. After the commission's vote to delay demolition, Maylor said the town will shut down the building's heat and sprinkler system to cut that cost down, since maintaining the interior is no longer needed if the building is set to be demolished. Fire detectors and alarms will still operate in the building.