4-11-08
After fire, Danvers State complex almost finished By
Ethan Forman Salem News
Almost
one year after a fire swept through the former Danvers State
property, the 433-unit Avalon Danvers apartment complex
atop Hathorne Hill is nearly complete.The fire, which burned
down three buildings and whose cause was never determined,
set construction back six to eight months. All the buildings
in the apartment complex are now scheduled to open June
1, with some ready for occupancy May 1. By the time an open
house is held in June, the developer expects it to be 80
percent to 90 percent occupied, said Scott Dale, vice president
of AvalonBay Communities.
Today,
the complex, which cost $80 million to build, sports apartments
with lofty ceilings, large windows and sweeping views of
the North Shore. Another 64 senior condominiums should take
shape over the next 18 months.In
a way, this is the second time Danvers State Hospital has
risen from the ground. The push to redevelop 77 acres of
the former Danvers State Hospital has meant the demolition
of most of the buildings of the former insane asylum, with
just one-third of the 1878 Kirkbride building remaining.
A
turret on the adjacent Kirkbride building, which caught
fire last year, has been replaced using a spare turret preserved
from a portion of the old building that had been torn down.
Developers had not been deterred by the history of the site,
an overcrowded mental hospital that became a mini city before
the state closed it in 1992. Today, it has drawn empty nesters
and families alike. Decades
ago, some said you would have been crazy to live there,
now some say you would be crazy not to.
The
centerpiece of the community is the 100,000-square-foot
portion of the red-brick Kirkbride building. It has an outdoor
swimming pool, a recreation room, a basketball court, a
fitness club and a Wi-Fi café. Inside, only one of
its 61 apartments is still available for rent. The building,
with its Gothic spires and cupolas, takes its name from
19th-century physician Thomas Story Kirkbride. While developers
tore down two-thirds of the Kirkbride, they reconstructed
the main tower over the front entrance that had been missing
for years.
Rents
in the Kirkbride building range from $1,300 to $1,700 for
a one-bedroom apartment to $1,575 to $2,400 for a two-bedroom
apartment. Some high-end units have cherry wood kitchen
cabinets and granite countertops.Dale
said the Kirkbride building, once the hospital's administration
building, now also serves as the administration building
for the complex. It's a place to gather and play basketball
or a game of pool.
Even
the modern buildings surrounding the Kirkbride building
take their visual cues from its Gothic architecture with
red brick trim and sharp gabled dormers. Building heights
on the perimeter of the development were kept low to preserve
a view of the remains of the Kirkbride building. "I
think the Kirkbride building is much more visible today
than it was 10 years ago," Dale said.
The
apartment complex is not the only project ongoing on the
hill. There are 64 condominiums, to be called Aria, being
developed by OHC Development, in which AvalonBay has a financial
stake. Susan Piracini, Aria's sales director, said it will
be another 18 months before the condominiums are built out.
Ten are already under contract. "It's
definitely a different product than a lot of the active
adult communities out on the market now," Piracini
said. Those
who buy condominiums, which all sport two-car garages, also
have access to amenities in the Avalon Danvers apartment
complex like the swimming pool. The condos cost $395,000
to $640,000.
Despite
efforts to preserve a portion of the Kirkbride building,
some say the demolition at the old hospital went too far.
Most of the buildings on the site were torn down. Demolition
on the south side of the hospital opened up a view of Boston,
Dale said.Town
Archivist Dick Trask said Danvers State Hospital used to
be one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture
"on he Eastern Seaboard."
He
last toured the Kirkbride building three years ago, and
while he found it in rough shape, he said more of it and
other buildingsshould have been preserved, such as an 1870s
garage with a mansard roof that was also torn down."They
never conceded one item of preservation," Trask said.
"They stuck to their original plan."He likens
the preservation of the remaining portion of the Kirkbride
building to "a mounted deer head."Dale said it
was not easy to satisfy everyone with a stake in the hospital's
future while making the project economically viable. "We
had to search for that common ground from everyone who was
involved," Dale said, "and I think we have done
a good job in satisfying the different stakeholders."
1-20-2008
Website update
I
separated the more recent chronicle pages into individual
pages so it's easier to read and more organized. I also
added old news articles I purchased online. I find these
past stories very interesting to read in regards to the
state of our Mental Health system years ago. I'll continue
to post any current news about the former hospital property,
but it's safe to say it won't be as interesting as we're
used to. I'll also be updating the website with stories
from 1980's - 50's periodically.
John
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