Nantucket Current | Monument conservationists are fighting against the planned demolition of…

Utility company National Grid's request to demolish a nearly 100-year-old brick building along the downtown waterfront was met with strong opposition from island conservationists and members of the Historic District Commission (HDC).

The proposed demolition was discussed during Tuesday's HDC meeting, where representatives from National Grid received a sympathetic ear and a clear message: The former Nantucket Electric Company building will not be demolished without a fight.

“I honestly feel like we're looking at tearing down one of the Three Bricks,” said HDC Vice Chairman Ray Pohl, referring to the three historic brick mansions on Main Street that date back to the heyday of Nantucket's whaling era. “It’s a workers’ version of one of the three bricks. This building is so significant to this downtown area for so many reasons – its materials, its form, its location, etc. I could do that.” Never vote for the demolition of this building. I know there are a lot of practical considerations, but I'm not wearing my HDC hat at the moment. Having passed this building several times a week and always enjoyed looking at it, I cannot in good conscience accept a demolition of it.”

The building is one of the last remnants of the time when Nantucket produced its own electricity from a waterfront power plant. But National Grid, the British multinational electricity and gas supplier, told the HDC that the structure was in poor condition, posed a safety risk and had no useful purpose for its operation.

“It is in significant poor condition and poses a hazard and safety risk,” Marisa Pizzi of National Grid told the commission on Tuesday. “We believe it is in the public interest to demolish the building and believe it will be an aesthetic improvement to the area given the property’s proximity to the water.”

But the island's conservationists formed a united front at Tuesday's meeting, calling on National Grid to save and restore the building.

“The structure in question should not be demolished as it is an important industrial building to our waterfront,” said Holly Backus, historic preservation planner for the City of Nantucket, who confirmed that it is a structure that contributes to Nantucket’s historic district. “I would recommend stabilizing and restoring the structure. Demolition of this important building is not appropriate for our local and national historic district, and I refer applicants to Section 124-13, our Minimum Maintenance Bylaw.”

Backus was referring to the city ordinance passed in 2004 that requires owners of contributing historic structures to “take at least the minimum measures necessary to prevent deterioration” of foundations, exterior walls, roofs, chimneys and supporting structures. The bylaw is often described as the city's mechanism to combat so-called “demolition through neglect” of historic buildings.

“This shouldn’t be torn down, it should be repaired,” said Micky Rowland, chairman of the city’s Historic Structures Advisory Board. “The roof could fall into disrepair. There was a tarp on the roof that was allowed to fall apart, leaving it exposed for many years. It is an important part of the industrial history of the port area.”

The Nantucket Preservation Trust (NPT) also joined the chorus of voices opposing the building's demolition.

“The building at 10 New Whale Street is now 97 years old,” said NPT Executive Director Mary Bergman. “I just wanted to support Holly (Backus) and Micky (Rowland) in ensuring that this is not demolished…One question I ask as a director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust and as a private citizen is why this building was allowed to fall into disrepair and when.” We have a minimum maintenance statute? And what can this committee do in the future so that we don’t end up in a similar situation with other historic buildings?”

Built in 1927, the brick building served as a processing plant for the coal gasification process operated at the site by the former Nantucket Electric Company. After the power plant closed in 1996 following the completion of the first submarine cable from Nantucket to the mainland, the brick building at 10 New Whale Street was stripped of its structural steel to accommodate equipment for the remediation of contaminated soil at the site. This involved pumping and filtering groundwater in the area over a period of 12 years. The building, now empty and no longer used by National Grid, has fallen into disrepair and has large cracks in the bricks, holes in the roof and broken windows.

Dave Fredericks, former manager of the Nantucket Electric Company power plant and former vice president of National Grid, spoke at Tuesday's meeting and said that when the submarine cables were approved and the power plant would be removed, the Historic District Commission at the time had the building demolished approved. However, the demolition of the brick building was delayed during the renovation work and the permission granted by the HDC lapsed after three years.

Pizzi, National Grid's current representative, told HDC members on Tuesday that the company had explored restoring the structure “some time ago” but ultimately ruled out that option.

“It would be extremely costly to restore this structure at this point,” Pizzi said. “There is also the fact that it has no operational purpose for the company and would be costly to ratepayers. It doesn't seem wise to invest millions of dollars in restoring this building if it can even be done.

HDC Chairman Stephen Welch reminded Pizzi and the other National Grid representatives at the meeting that these considerations were outside the commission's purview.

“Frankly and objectively, these are considerations that National Grid should have considered years ago,” Welch said. “They're not our purview and we can't include them as a quid pro quo… I understand it's not cheap, and I understand it's not practical, but there are some things where cheap and convenient don't make the difference can give, and I think this is one of them.

He suggested that National Grid consider restoring the building and moving it closer to the other historic brick building on the site.

Other members of the HDC also expressed their opposition to the planned demolition.

“It is a rare and important structure that should be restored and it is unfortunate that it has fallen into such disrepair and is unsafe,” said HDC member Angus MacLeod. “I believe it should be stabilized and restored.”

With the commission poised to reject the demolition request, Pohl suggested that National Grid be allowed to return to the HDC at a future meeting with a revised proposal for the building. Pizzi accepted the offer and the application was held pending further information from the company at a later hearing.