Cap'n Jack's Three Buildings Now a Single Pile

Demolition crews knocked down the structures in less than seven hours; the site will be clear by the end of the week.

  Two excavators brought down the three Cap'n Jack's Inn buildings with startling speed on Tuesday. Equally startling for many passersby was the empty space left on the Humphrey Street landscape. Between 7:30 am and 2:15 pm the three buildings came down under the arms and buckets of two Meninno Construction excavators. By mid-afternoon layers of rubble rested beneath the heavy equipment. The highest points on the lot are two thin pines in the corner. Excavator operators Jeff Plumb, the site foreman, and John Sullivan felled the middle building first, the foreman said. The bed of rubble made a platform for the end buildings, including the 1835 main building, to pile upon, he said. "If you know how they go up you can take them apart," Plumb …

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Cap'n Jack's Buildings To Come Down in April

The Historical Commission voted unanimously to withdraw the demolition delay to the three Cap'n Jack's buildings on Humphrey Street.

  The delay is over and demolition of the three Cap'n Jack's Inn buildings is expected some time in April. Historical Commission members voted unanimously to lift the delay at their meeting Tuesday. Little more than half of the nine months remained before the delay was going to run out Aug. 1. Commission members said it was clear the owners were not going to agree to preserve any parts of the buildings so it was fruitless to hold out hopes of negotiating such an agreement. Property co-owner Bruce Paradise said after the meeting that he expects the demolition will take place in April. The developer has agreed to donate $5,000 toward establishment of a historical district study and he will respond to a town request for proposals to restore …

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Where Oh Where?

Where Oh Where? Answer

We asked Where Oh Where was the location shown in this photograph?

We asked Where Oh Where was the location shown in this photograph?  Elise Scanlan got the correct answer when she answered the Cap'n Jack's property. We'll have our bext Where Oh Where contest on Wednesday. This contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter, just submit your answer in the comments section below. All entries must be received by midnight tonight, Eastern Time. Readers may only offer one answer per week. The winner will receive a $5 gift card to a local business. To view the officials rules and regulations, click here

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Developers Offer Deal For End to Demo Delay

Two developers who plan to buy the Cap'n Jack's property and build condos presented their offer to the Historical Commission on Tuesday.

  Developers Bruce Paradise and Barry Turkanis are offering to support two local historical endeavors if the Historical Commission abandons its demolition delay on the Cap'n Jack's Waterfront Inn property. The developers offer, with conditions, to restore the Swampscott Train Station and contribute $5,000 toward a historical district study in Swampscott. The developers, who have a purchase-and-sale agreement with the owner of the Humphrey Street inn, made their offer to the commission in a letter, copies of which Turkanis delivered to the members at their meeting Tuesday. The letter, in accordance with the Massachusetts Public Record Law, became a public document when it was circulated to the commission at the public meeting. The …

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Question: Have Other Developers Been Asked to Contribute to Public Improvements?

The latest question we answer in You Ask, Patch Answers.

Welcome to You Ask, Patch Answers, a column in which you ask us a question about anything going on in town and we do our best to find an answer. Got a question you'd like to see Patch answer? E-mail it to: terry.date@patch.com Question: Has any construction project in town ever given/contributed to any public operation in Swampscott? The reader was asking this question in response to the $50,000 that the Parturk developers were asked to contribute to the town. The request arose earlier this year during the review of the Cap'n Jack's project by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The developers agreed to the request, and have approval to build The second part of the question was what kind of improvements will the $50,000 fund? Answer: We put the …

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Inn's Demo Delay on Table Tuesday

The Swampscott Historical Commission's hearing is at 7 pm at the town Senior Center. The Commission will hear testimony on whether to delay demolition of Cap'n Jack's Inn for up to nine months.

On Tuesday the town Historical Commission will hear arguments for or against delaying demolition of the Cap’n Jack’s buildings located on Humphrey Street.   The property consists of three buildings, the oldest of which was built in 1835 and is the closest of the three to nearby Fisherman’s Beach. The hearing starts at 7 pm in the Senior Center. Commission members Susan Munafo and Melanie Peterson said the panel will listen to all arguments then vote on whether to delay the buildings’ demolition up to nine months. That vote could come as soon as Tuesday, after the hearing, they said. The Commission already determined, Sept. 13, that the Cap’n Jack’s buildings are historically significant. Munafo and Peterson said in an interview that the …

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Planning Board Reviews New Condo Design for Cap'n Jack's Site

Board Member Sylvia Belkin questions if neighbors knew the new design would be presented.

The Planning Board reviewed proposed revisions Monday night for the new condominiums on the current Cap'n Jack's Inn site with “mixed emotions.” The board, which on this project acts only as an adviser to the Zoning Board of Appeals, concluded that the new plans for 15 condos are better than the previous plan that included a higher roofline and a penthouse. But members said they feel the two-story building still lacks the central view corridor that the board members and some members of the zoning board wanted. The proposal for the 75-year-old waterfront inn site is made by Concordia, owned by Bruce Paradise, a former Planning Board member, and Barry Turkanis. The new design would eliminate the penthouse, giving the building 15 condos …

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Planning Board Opposes Cap'n Jack's Inn Condos

Zoning Board to review two residential projects on Burrill Street and Humphrey Street.

The Planning Board gave a thumbs up Monday night to a proposed eight-unit condominium project at 100 Burrill Street on the site of the long-vacant rectory. But after almost two hours of discussion before a packed crowd at the Senior Center, the board refused to support Concordia's plans for a 16-unit, 31/2-story condominium building on the site of the Cap'n Jack Inn on Humphrey Street. The board will submit its recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which is scheduled to meet on both projects Wednesday night. The Planning Board acts as an adviser to the zoning board, which will be asked to approve a special permit or variance for several issues with the Humphrey Street project, including its use and its height. The Cap'n Jack Inn …

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