Historic House Saved: Builder, Medfield Historical Commission Reach Agreement

Editor's note: The following article was submitted by Medfield Historical Society president, David Temple.

The historic 1811 Fairbanks/Chenery/Hale house at 34 South St. in Medfield has been saved from demolition after an agreement was reached last week by the developer, Robert Borrelli and the Medfield Historical Commission.

Under the agreement, Borrelli will install a new foundation under the house, rehabilitate the outside and put in a new interior. The rear of the house, leading to the barn and the barn itself, are too far gone to be saved and they will be demolished. He also said he will call a company that saves recyclable old barn boards and the like.

Borrelli and his architect presented the commission with plans for the old house rehabilitation and the new house to be attached behind it. The members of the commission thanked Borrelli for coming back with the plan to preserve the old house and to erect new buildings that are in keeping with the historic character of the neighborhood.

About a dozen residents of the neighborhood indicated their satisfaction with the outcome; none voiced opposition.

“The role of the commission is to balance the rights of property owners with the needs of the community to preserve and protect its historical character," said Daniel Bibel, co-chair of the commission. "In this case, the commission feels the solution is a win-win-win for the property owners, the developer and the town."

In July, when the owners, George and Louise Papadoyiannis, applied for a permit to demolish everything, roughly 25 area residents showed up at the commission’s hearing to express concern. Town Historian Richard DeSorgher gave a slide presentation on the long history of the house and its early inhabitants. 

The Massachusetts Historical Commission in 1998 determined the house could probably qualify for the National Register of Historic Places if the owners applied.
The historical commission in July declared the house historically significant and preferably preserved and in keeping with Medfield’s demolition delay bylaw, imposed a one-year delay on its destruction.

The commission encouraged the owners to come back with a plan for at least partial preservation – this is what led to last week’s lifting of the demolition delay.

The front part of the acre lot on South Street and Hale Place is zoned for two-family housing; zoning regulations on the back half of the lot permit a new one-family house to be built facing Hale Place.

Borrelli said he hopes to begin work within a month so he can get the new foundations in before the ground freezes.