MEHR Update: Ames Shovel Shops
ABaez | Friday, April 9th, 2010 | No Comments »
If there is a bulldozer looming in front of the historic office building at the Ames Shovel Shops is it not to demolish the buildings, but rather to preserve them. On Monday April 5th, 2010 after a long town meeting, the people of Easton voted 560-209 in favor of preserving and re-developing the Ames Shovel Shops Works.
In 2008, PM listed the complex on the Most Endangered list due to a large-scale housing development proposed that would demolish or severely compromise the historic integrity and character of the Shovel Shops and the center of North Easton. The Shops were also included on the National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered list in 2009.
The new developer is Beacon Communities, a Boston based development firm with a long track record of successful historic rehabilitation projects across the state, including the Cordovan at Haverhill Station in Haverhill and the Wilbur School in Sharon. Housing is still the planned use but at a scaled back level and more sensitive to the historic character of the building than what had previously been proposed. PM is very excited to see our involvement and advocacy on behalf of these buildings result in such a positive step forward for the Ames Shovel Complex and for Easton.
Easton Voters Support Shovel Shop Redevelopment
By Vicki-Ann Downing | Enterprise News | Apr. 06, 2010
EASTON — Voters at the special town meeting on Monday night supported the Beacon Communities Development plan to rescue the historic Ames shovel factory by a vote of 560-209.
An estimated 800 people turned out for the session, many of them waiting in long lines for entry into Oliver Ames High School. Processing the large crowd delayed the start of the meeting by 40 minutes.
Voters made it clear almost from the start that they favored the plan to give Beacon Communities Development a $3 million grant to pay for a historic preservation restriction on the shovel complex and a $4.5 million construction loan. The money will come from the town’s Community Preservation Act account, which has a balance of about $10 million.
For more information on this success story, click here
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