By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — A long-blighted downtown property will now be getting a facelift. Last week, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted Special Permits and site plan approval that will allow the owner to redevelop and upgrade the long vacant property at 460-472 Main Street, across from the Americal Civic Center.
The site is often referred to as the “Molise building,” as it was at one time occupied by Ristorante Molise.
The Special Permits and other relief granted by the ZBA last week will allow the owner, A&E Realty Trust, to proceed with a redevelopment of the property that will result in 16 garden-style apartments on the second floor and in the rear, along with retail stores, service establishments or restaurants on the Main Street facing ground floor.
Attorney Brian McGrail represented the owners throughout the nearly year-long permitting process. He told the ZBA last week that his client was eager to begin work as soon as possible.
Plans call for the new building façade to feature Hardy plank siding, with old world features like bay windows on the upper level.
About 17 feet will be cut off the northern end of the building to create a wider driveway into a parking garage with 22 spaces in the rear of the building.
McGrail reminded the board that he had already submitted the final site plan, architectural drawings and an operations and maintenance plan along with a list of conditions for the project.
The board indicated that it was satisfied with operations and maintenance plan. The conditions listed for the project prohibit on-street parking by workers and contractors during construction. In compliance with the town’s inclusionary zoning bylaw, three of the 16 residential units will be affordable. The property owner has also agreed to provide $10,000 to the town for future traffic mitigation.
McGrail indicated that his client was in the process of applying for a demolition permit.
No one from the public spoke at last week’s final hearing on the project.
In addition to the Special Permit allowing the construction of the mixed residential and retail project, the ZBA granted another Special Permit allowing the alteration and reduction of dimensional requirements and a third Special Permit reducing the requirements for off-street parking.
The last commercial occupant of the building was Ristorante Molise, which vacated the premises a decade ago.
The rehab of the building got a nudge in the summer of 2022, after town officials objected to the long vacant building serving as a backdrop to the town’s Independence Day Parade.
In October of 2022, the Town Council hauled the owner, Alexandros Tsitos, in front of them to discuss the condition of the property. At that meeting, Town Councilors communicated to Tsitos in the strongest possible terms their wish to see the long-blighted property cleaned up and put back into productive use. The owner and his attorney cited longstanding contamination issues as a reason that the building fell into disuse. A cleanup of the contamination was reportedly completed in August of 2022.
In April of 2023, the Board of Appeals opened its hearings on the proposed redevelopment of the property. The development team and the ZBA worked through the plans for the site throughout the remainder of 2023, culminating in last week’s approval of the project plans.
