Historic Salem

HSI has been involved in advocating for preservation of these buildings since the church was closed by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2004.  The four buildings in this complex illustrate the history of Salem’s immigrant communities, first French and later Spanish speaking. The complex contains four buildings, the most significant of which are the International style 1948 Church and the 1917 Rectory. The complex is considered Endangered. Unfortunately, the proposal for new housing by the’ Planning Office for Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Boston (POUA) calls for demolition of the church and for large scale new construction unlike the variety and scale of the immediate neighborhood.  Due to the use of Federal funds in the project, it is subject to Section 106 review, which should require mitigation of adverse impact to historic resources.

 For photos of interiors, see  salemcitizens.org/issues/St%20Josephs/stjosephs.htm

History and Significance

The site has been the home of St. Joseph’s Parish since 1884 and was associated first with Salem’s French community, and later Spanish community, and as such has important historical associations. The complex contains four buildings, most of them replacements for earlier buildings on the site. The most significant buildings are the rectory and church. The Church, designed in the International Style and built in 1948, has a dramatic interior emphasizing volume, height, and light. The Rectory (1917), with its French equivalent “Presbytere” incised into the brownstone, helps to define the streetscape. The School (1921) and Convent (1962) contribute to the historic context.

The church’s steeple is a landmark, visible from many vantage points throughout the City. The church building has a striking resemblance to the First Christian Church of Columbus, Indiana, designed by Eliel Saarinen, built in 1942, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001. St. Joseph’s also closely resembles the Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Hartford, Connecticut, and Rabat, Morocco.

Studies by the City of Salem and the Massachusetts Historical Commission respectively have concluded that the Church complex and the Point Neighborhood are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

History of Threat and Preservation Efforts

Closing of the church

The Archdiocese of Boston closed the Church in 2004. In the absence of a known plan to preserve the historic buildings on the site, and in response to the nomination of the complex from the community, Historic Salem nominated the complex to its Most Endangered Historic Resources list in the same year.  February 2005, the Archdiocese solicited proposals for the sale of the property and in June of 2005, the Bank of America and the Planning Office of Urban Affairs (POUA) (a housing developer subsidiary of the Archdiocese) purchased the St. Joseph’s complex.

Late in 2005, two studies (one for the City of Salem; the other for the Massachusetts Historical Commission) were released.  These studies recommended that this complex be declared eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for two reasons: first, as a distinctive examples of the International Style (the Church) and the Second Renaissance Revival Style (the Rectory or Presbytère), and second as an important gathering place for Salem’s French Canadian community and later its Hispanic communities.

Historic Salem met with POUA’s leadership several times in 2005 and early in 2006 to explore options to pursue their development program while also preserving the church building.  At the time, POUA expressed a willingness to convey the Church to another party and Historic Salem conducted outreach to possible buyers, unfortunately without success.  Historic Salem also asked POUA to consider incorporating housing units into the church building as part of their development program, and asked them to consider other designs which would be more sensitive to the scale of the nearby 2 and 2 1?2 story houses in the Point, such as townhouses.

Initial proposal for redevelopment

In early 2006, POUA shared initial planning concepts with the City and with community leaders. Their plans called for retaining the rectory, demolishing the church, and constructing a mixed use six-story building along Lafayette Street with 95 residential units and a Community Life Center, which would include the Senior Center, on the ground floor. Public comment at various review boards included support for the project from affordable housing advocates, support for and against the inclusion of the Community Life Center, and support for preservation of the Church, including support from Historic Salem.

Variances granted

In the fall of 2006, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance for height and the Planning Board granted approval of a Planned Unit Development for the project substantially as presented. Unfortunately, the granting of the approvals that allowed significantly more housing units per acre than that of the underlying zoning, provided a strong economic incentive to demolish the church.

Neighbors take action

Late in 2006, litigation was filed by 40 abutters, residents and property owners that challenged the granting of the enabling variances and the Planned Unit Development which would permit the large multi-use building. The developer thereafter received a Comprehensive 40B permit from the Salem Zoning Board of Appeals in February 2007 for a four-story building with 65 residential units, and a Community Life Center on the first floor as originally planned.

In March 2007, the Mayor withdrew her request for authorization from the City Council for Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for the Community Life Center. An alternate site for the Senior Center at the corner of Bridge and Boston Streets has since been proposed by the Mayor and approved by the Council.

In August of 2006, POUA applied to the Salem Historical Commission for a demolition delay waiver to expedite development of the property. The Historical Commission denied this request in December 2006. The demolition delay expired February 8, 2007.

B-5 Zoning extended

In the summer of 2008, the City Council approved the extension of the B-5 zoning adjacent to the site to permit the project to go forward with a possible drug store on the first floor. This extension of the B-5 zoning created an additional concern in that it permits the high density allowed in the B-5 district without the mitigating effect of approval by the Design Review Board as is the case in the rest of the downtown B-5 district. Historic Salem urged the Council to consider including the area in the SRA district in order to provide design review but the Council declined to act on that opportunity.

Legal efforts end

The legality of the rezoning was then also challenged by abutters in court. The developer filed for summary judgment and won in February 2009; that decision was also appealed. The zoning appeal was denied by the SJC in June 2010.

This final court decision affirms the zoning change and so development of the site can proceed. Although the potential ramifications are not yet known, it appears highly likely that the Church will be demolished. We hope that the other supporting historic buildings on the site will be retained as originally planned.

106 Review process starts

In December of 2009 POUA filed a Project Notification Form (PNF) with the Massachusetts Historical Commission in accordance with Section 106 of National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Section 106 requires a project proponent to identify adverse impacts on resources eligible for the National Register, and consider project alternatives to mitigate that impact. Historic Salem, as a matter of general practice, participates in 106 reviews taking place in the City of Salem. As such, Historic Salem provided comment on the PNF, including reference to the studies which recommended both the St. Joseph’s complex and the Point Neighborhood for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission in January of 2010 asked for further information as part of the Section 106 Review process, asking that a lead federal agency make a determination of effect and recognize consulting parties. As of this writing we are anticipating that the 106 process will proceed with the drafting of a Memorandum of Agreement once the lead federal agency is selected. We are in contact with MHC and the POUA, as well as other local advocates as we wait to proceed.

Link to the developer’s Planning Board presentation of August 19, 2010:  www.salem.com/pages/salemma_dpcd/studiesreports/stjospbpresentation.pdf

Historic Salem, Inc.’s January 2010 response to MHC in regards to the developer’s December 2009 Project Notification Form (PNF).

St. Joseph’s Site Reuse Study – Commissioned by the city in 2005  www.salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_DPCD/studiesreports/St.Joseph%27sStudy.pdf

Links to community viewpoints:

Salem News “My View” article by Stanley Smith – www.salemnews.com/opinion/x180468210/My-View-Demolition-of-St-Joes-represents-return-to-Salems-pre-preservationist-past
Video by local artist Andrew Carr – www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7pKHEUcvI&feature=player_embedded