NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The burned-out hulk at the corner of Houghton and Brooklyn Street is finally headed for the wrecking ball. 

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council last week that the apartment building at 246-248 Houghton St. is on the city's demolition list.

 

"We are waiting on one asbestos report for that package," she said. "We hope to have that out to bid. It's one of the priorities we have."

 

The mayor said once the package is prepared it would go out to bid for 45 days and then a contract would be awarded. 

 

The six-unit building burned four years ago in January in a massive fire that took two hours to bring under control. The fire was considered accidental though the actual cause could not be determined.

 

The structure was known as the Owen Morris House and, according to the city's historical survey, was constructed in 1884, although the city's assessor gives it a date of 1870. It was originally used as a residence and grocery store and built by Morris, who worked at Arnold Print Works. It was built with four units and a public library branch was located there for about 40 years until closing in 1976, when two more units were created.

 

The property was sold in April 2020 for $5,000 to Garabed Setrakian of Cambridge, who had planned to raze the building and replace it with a new six-unit building primarily for short-term rentals. He received a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for parking in 2021 but has not moved forward with the project. 

 

Since then, the city has adopted an ordinance that requires a special permit for professionally managed  short-term rentals in residential zones. 

 

The property, dubbed "Violet Residences," had been listed with a sale price of $60,000 in February with the plans provided at the ZBA meeting but was taken off the market on Saturday, when it had a price of $36,000. 

 

The mayor said there are five to seven properties that have been identified for demolition in the bid package. The city has frequently used some of its Community Development Block Grant funds to remove blighted properties in the downtown area. 

 

Macksey said the owner had also indicated he would take care of it. "Whoever gets there first," she said.