Soon: Beachside Frozen Yogurt — and Waffles Too

O-YO frozen yogurt will occupy two units at the new Gateway Building.

  A new frozen yogurt shop will occupy two units at the new Gateway Building and could open as soon as the end of February, said Jayne Orloff-Carey, whose family owns the Gateway property. O-YO frozen yogurt is independently owned and will serve freshly made frozen yogurt and toppings, fresh fruit smoothies and freshly baked waffles, she said. The business needs only an occupancy permit from the town Building Department before it opens, said town Building Inspector Alan Hezekiah. O-YO will occupy two adjoining units: one a corner unit facing Humphrey Street and the other a side unit facing Redington Street. Town Planner Pete Kane likes the yogurt shop idea.  It's a good fit for the beach and will generate foot traffic, he said. The Gateway…

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New Gateway Building a Delight

Here's one local project worthy of praise! The building will again be home to small businesses.

We hear so many complaints from people about projects around town; I wanted to take the opportunity to recognize the great work the owners, architects and builders have done with the new Gateway Building. As a regular passer-by, it's been fascinating to watch the transformation of the property since the original building was destroyed by fire in March 2011.  The new building is a beautifully designed and built space.  What a wonderfully welcoming entry to our picturesque seaside town.  Check out that copper-topped cupola and weathervane! Now if only they'd add back a clock to the corner facade :) Congratulations to all involved!

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Gateway Building To Be Quieter

The Humphrey Street building's design now calls for moving some HVAC equipment from the roof to the building to make it quieter for the neighboring Hadley Elementary.

  Planning Board members on Monday approved changes to the Gateway Building's design including moving HVAC air handlers from the roof to reduce noise. Condensers are the only HVAC items that will remain on the roof of the 3,700-square-foot commercial building. It is located at 128-140 Humphrey Street, next to Hadley School.  Designers moved the air handlers — square boxes that include blowers and other components — as a result of talks with parents of kids who go to Hadley Elementary School, Tucker said. "They are going to hear the road far more than the HVAC," said Jeff Tucker of Walter Jacob Architects, representing the building owners. Last year, Planning Board members required the building owner to meet with the parents and school …

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Gateway Building Construction to Start Soon

One of the former tenants, Raina's Hair Color Cafe, will return to the Humphrey/Redington property.

  It has been nine months since fire destroyed the original Gateway building at Humphrey and Redington. The due date for construction to start on the replacement building is any time now, says Jayne Orloff-Carey, whose family owns the property. She expects contruction to start this month — weather permitting. The family has all its building approvals in place. And they satisfied a condition of approval by meeting with a group of parents whose children attend Hadley School. Among the parents' concerns was the worry that trucks moving on and off the construction site might endanger Hadley School children. The elementary school is located right next to the Gateway property. The property owner said she met with Hadley Principal Sandra Rivers …

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Swampscott Stories

Gateway Gets Thumbs Up

Planning Board members approved the site plan application for the Orloff family's Gateway Building on Monday. The only condition is that the owners meet with parents fo Hadley School children to answer their questions.

The Planning Board got three looks at the Gateway Building on Monday. First, they saw a historical photograph circa 1900. Then, architectural drawings showed the single-story building at night. Finally, they saw it from King's Beach. In the end they liked what they saw. At least enough so to approve the site plan application for the Humphrey Street building, granting Jayne Orloff-Carey a permit to rebuild. It will stand where the former Gateway Building stood. It burned on March 1. The approval comes with a condition. Owners must meet with a group of parents whose children attend Hadley School, said board Chairman Pat Jones. The owners will field questions from the group and possibly incorporate their suggestions. At Monday's meeting …

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After the Blaze

Giovannucci Brothers Say Business Remains Robust

The local contracting company moved to Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead after fire destroyed its Humphrey Street office in March.

It has now been six months since the March 1 fire at the Gateway Building destroyed the office of Giovannucci Brothers contracting business, and business is still booming. "We've been very busy," said Erica Giovannucci, who manages the office duties for the family-owned contracting firm. "At this point, we've moved to Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead and things are going well for the business." From the outside, it may appear that the office location for a business like Giovannucci Brothers might not be as important as that of a retail shop or restaurant, but Giovannucci said the company does miss the higher profile location they'd enjoyed at the Gateway building. "That spot (at Gateway) was great, right on the corner," she said. "It gave a …

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After the Blaze

Raina's Hopes to Return

As the owners of the gateway property unveil plans for a new commercial building on Humphrey, at least one of their tenants is hoping to return

Following the first Planning Board hearing on a propsed new building for the Gateway Property, the owner of one of the businesses that was burned out by the fire last March said she is anxiously awaiting news that she will be able to return to Swampscott at the same address. "I want to rebuild our business up there, as soon as they rebuild the building," said Raina Morgan of Raina's Hair Coloring, which also operates a shop in Revere. "We've still got the store in Revere, and business there has been good," said Morgan. "In fact, some of our Swampscott clients have come down here to see us, but we want to be back up in Swampscott, I miss being across from the beach up there." Morgan said that her business has lost some clients since the …

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What Would You Like For the Gateway Replacement?

Each week Swampscott Patch asks residents to weigh in on a particular question, posted as a Facebook poll. This week's question asks about the Humphrey Street replacement for the Gateway building that burned in March.

This week's Facebook poll asks readers what they would like to see on the Gateway property, the lot at the corner of Humphrey and Redington streets. Here is the question. Follow the link below to answer it.    What would you most like to see in the lot on the Gateway property at Humphrey and Redington streets? The Orloff family is bringing forth a proposed commercial building with room for six businesses. The Planning Board will hear their formal proposal next month.

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Swampscott Stories

New Gateway Building Before Planning Board Tonight

The proposed replacement would be a single-story commercial use building.

The empty space that has been the lot at Humphrey and Redington streets since a devastating fire in March may soon be filled with a 3,800-square-foot building. The property owners, the Orloffs, are slated tonight to present Planning Board members preliminary plans for a single-story commercial building. The presentation and discussion comes a month before the owners expect to apply for a final site review special permit, according to the board's agenda. Jayne Orloff Carey, whose family has owned the property for 40 years, is eager to see a new Gateway building standing in Swampscott.  "Oh, we are very excited," she said. "I wish things would move faster but it's important to do things the right way."  She hopes the new structure is up by …

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