P092718

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
City Council
rejects sex
By Thomas Grillo
toy shop
The proponent of an adult
store has decided to appeal
the city’s decision to reject his
newest store on Route 1.
“The City Council clearly
out-stepped their bounds by
violating their own rules,”
said Scott MacGregor, a
South Hadley entrepreneur
who was planning to open
his second Adam & Eve store
in Massachusetts. “The fact
of the matter is the council
president and the city solicitor
stated I had met every
single zoning requirement the
council set out.”
In a 6-4 vote last week, the
council refused to issue a special
permit for the 5,960-squarefoot
store in the plaza at 212
Newbury St. with Wow! Work
Out World, Namco Pool, and
the Mass Bay Hockey Center.
The shop planned to offer
vibrators, handcuffs, bondage
tape, collars and leashes, and a
selection of lingerie, satin and
lace corsets, body stockings,
costumes, lubes and oils, and
male enhancement products.
But in a presentation to the
council, Ward 5 City Councilor
Joel Saslaw, whose district
includes the mall, argued the
plaza caters to youth at Work
Out World, where kids as young
as 16 can be members, the Mass
Bay Hockey Center, which features
a mini rink to teach youngsters,
and next door at Bruce
McCorry’s Martial Arts Center,
where children as young as 3
years old take classes.
“For me, those are red flags,”
Saslaw said. “While it might be
zoned for it, this address is not
appropriate because of abutting
businesses and the youth they
serve.”
Ward 1 City Councilor Jon
Turco, who supported the special
permit, said many of the same
items can be purchased at CVS.
MacGregor’s application included
a letter of recommendation
from Lisa Davol, membership
manager at the Franklin
County Chamber of Commerce,
for his store in Greenfield.
“Adam & Eve has been a
member in good standing of the
chamber and has participated
in our community for seven
years,” she wrote. “We think
they will be a fine addition in
any community in which they
choose to do business.”
No one from the public testified
for or against the store
during the hearing.
MacGregor said some members
of the council have no idea
about his upscale store.
“But I will tell you this, if my
appeal fails, I will sue the city,”
he said.
City Councilor-at-Large
Ryan Melville said he went into
the hearing with an open mind,
but was persuaded by Saslaw’s
arguments.
“That kind of shop can’t
go there by right,” he said.
“That’s why they need a special
permit.”
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Self-storage facility
coming to Route 1 South
By Thomas Grillo
While stuck in traffic on
Route 1 South in Peabody,
commuters may have seen
construction vehicles behind
the Green Tea restaurant.
Circle Storage, an entity
owned by Ralph Caruso
of Wenham, purchased the
5.1-acre site in 2007 for $3
million. The company recently
received approval for
a 108,000-square-foot selfstorage
facility. There are
plans to demolish the shuttered
18,852 square-foot billiard
club facing Route 1 and
construction is expected to
commence next spring.
“We are moving material
around and preparing the site
for construction,” said James
Sheridan, a consultant on the
project. “The owner hasn’t
decided if they will build it
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the many offers to buy the
lot and its approvals. A decision
will be made later this
year after the site work is
completed.”
On an adjacent parcel, off
Winona Street, the developer
has been approved for 13 single-family
house.
“It’s the same issue on that
lot,” Sheridan said. “We are
holding back because of the
time of year; doing road work
and utilities and trying to start
building homes in the winter
is tough,” he said. “We have
also had multiple offers to buy
that parcel.”
Ward 5 City Councilor Joel
Saslaw, whose district includes
the two sites, said he
has been supportive of the
storage facility that is being
built. He noted the subdivision
won approval more than
a decade ago.
“This is the last major piece
of undeveloped land on Route
1, and Caruso has a good reputation,”
he said. “It’s not exactly
what I would’ve liked to
see on Route 1. Perhaps a retail
use might have worked, but
they had the right to build and
the architectural drawings I saw
looked like it will be aesthetically
pleasing to the area.”
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