In the very first edition of this column I ever wrote — way back in March 2023 (I can’t believe it’s been less than a year) — I detailed a failed attempt by the Board of Selectmen to lease the Gerry School in 1983. So, for my final edition of “Blast from the Past,” I figured I would return to my roots.
Sort of, anyway.
While this week’s column is not about the Gerry School, or any other school building for that matter, it is about development. See, the Gerry School is now the Elbridge Marblehead, a luxury condo complex. In 1984, another development was born: the Reserve at Oliver Pond.
On Feb. 29, 1984, The Daily Evening Item reported plans had been filed with the Marblehead building inspector’s office for the development of a “million-dollar-plus” commercial-residential complex at the former site of the old Clifton Post Office on Humphrey Street.
The developer, Jack Levin, who served as chair of the Swampscott Board of Appeals at the time, sought to develop the parcel along with the adjacent site of the former DeVos Service Station. The plans called for razing both structures on the more than 2-acre site.
In doing so, Levin told the paper he was “eliminating what has been a long-standing eyesore, and starting from scratch with attractive, all-new, well-planned construction.”
Levin sought to construct an underground garage at the foundation site of the old post office, with three stories above it. The first floor would house eight commercial spaces, while the second and third floors would contain up to 13 residential units. According to Levin, the development would feature ample outside parking for shoppers, while residents would use the garage to park.
At the back of the site sits Ware’s Pond, and about a third of that land was included in the post office site. The Conservation Commission owned the land surrounding the pond.
Levin was not required to obtain a variance or any other permit from Marblehead’s Zoning Board of Appeals to move forward with the development. But, he did face a hurdle in the form of a court injunction barring the building inspector from issuing a permit at the site. The injunction was handed down at the request of neighbors, who were concerned with the run-down condition of the then-privately owned office building.
At the time, renderings were still in the works but Levin said he hoped to work closely with neighbors “in order to obtain input and to meet any and all objections to the plan, as well as cooperate with municipal boards and departments, such as planners and the appeals board, whether I’m required to or not.”
“Anyone who is familiar with my projects in the past knows they are of the highest quality and designed with an eye to preserving not only the character of the neighborhood but the entire community,” Levin said.
The permit application set the construction cost at $600,000, not including property acquisition or the installation of utilities.
Site work began in September of that year, with demolition getting underway.