Preservationists Fight Proposed Demolition Of Old Nantucket Electric Company Building On Waterfront

The utility company National Grid's application to demolish a nearly 100-year-old brick building along the downtown waterfront has been met with forceful pushback by island preservationists and the members of the Historic District Commission (HDC).

The proposed demolition was considered during Tuesday's HDC meeting, where National Grid representatives got an earful and a clear message: the former Nantucket Electric Company building won't be torn down without a fight.

"I feel like we're reviewing a demolition for one of the Three Bricks, honestly," said HDC vice chair Ray Pohl, referring to the three historic brick mansions on Main Street dating back to the heyday of Nantucket's whaling era. "It's a blue-collar version of one of the Three Bricks. This building, for so many reasons - its material, its shape, its location, all of that - is so rich with meaning in terms of that downtown area. So I could never, never vote in favor of a demolition of this building. I know there are a lot of practical considerations, but I'm not wearing my practical hat right now. I'm wearing my HDC hat. As somebody who lives here and drives past that building multiple times per week and always loved to look at it, I can't in good conscience accept a demolition on this."

The building is one of the last vestiges of the era when Nantucket produced its own electricity from a power plant along the waterfront. But National Grid, the British multinational electricity and gas utility company, told the HDC the structure is in disrepair, represents a safety hazard, and has no useful purpose for its operations.

"It is in significant disrepair and poses a hazard and safety risk," National Grid's Marisa Pizzi told the commission on Tuesday. "We feel it's in the public interest to (demolish the building), and feel it will be an aesthetic improvement to the area given the property's proximity to the waterfront."

But island preservationists formed a united front at Tuesday's meeting, calling on National Grid to save and restore the building.

"The structure in question should not be demolished as it's an important industrial building to our waterfront," said Holly Backus, the town of Nantucket's preservation planner, who confirmed it is a contributing structure to Nantucket's historic district. "I would recommend the structure be stabilized and restored. Demolishing this important building is not appropriate to our local and national historic district, and I would refer the applicants to Sec. 124-13, our minimum maintenance bylaw."

Backus was referring to the town bylaw adopted in 2004 that requires the owners of contributing historic structures to take "at least the minimum steps necessary to prevent the deterioration" of foundations, exterior walls, roofs, chimneys, and support structures. The bylaw is often referred to as the town's mechanism to combat the so-called "demolition by neglect" of historic buildings. 

"This should not be demolished - it should be repaired," said Micky Rowland, chair of the town's Historic Structures Advisory Board. "The roof has been allowed to deteriorate. There was a tarp on the roof that they allowed to disintegrate, so it's been exposed for many years. It's an important part of the industrial history of the waterfront."

The Nantucket Preservation Trust (NPT) also joined the chorus of voices opposed to the demolition of the building. 

"That structure that's existed at 10 New Whale Street is now 97 years old," said NPT executive director Mary Bergman. "I just wanted to back up Holly (Backus) and Micky (Rowland) in requesting that this not be demolished...One question I pose as director of Nantucket Preservation Trust and as a private citizen is why was this building allowed to deteriorate when we have a minimum maintenance bylaw? And what can this body do going forward so we don't find ourselves in this position with other historic structures?" 

Built in 1927, the brick building had served as the processing plant for the coal gasification conducted at the site by the former Nantucket Electric Company. After the power plant was closed in 1996 following the completion of the first undersea cable from Nantucket to the mainland, the brick building at 10 New Whale Street was gutted of its structural steel to house equipment associated with the remediation effort for contaminated soil at the site. That included pumping and filtering groundwater in the area for 12 years. Now empty and unused by National Grid, the building has fallen into disrepair with large cracks through its bricks, holes in its roof, and broken windows.

Dave Fredericks, the former manager of the Nantucket Electric Company power plant and a past vice president with National Grid, spoke at Tuesday's meeting and said that when the undersea cables were permitted and the power plant was being removed, the Historic District Commission at the time had approved the demolition of the building. However, the demolition of the brick structure was delayed while the remediation work took place, and the approval granted by the HDC lapsed after three years.

Pizzi, the current National Grid representative, told the members of the HDC on Tuesday that the company had explored restoration of the structure "some time ago" but ultimately ruled that option out.

"It would be extremely cost-prohibitive at this point to restore this structure," Pizzi said. "Added to the fact it doesn't have an operational purpose for the company and would come at a cost to the ratepayers. It doesn't seem like the prudent thing to do to invest millions of dollars to restore this building, if it can even be done."

Stephen Welch, the chair of the HDC, reminded Pizzi and the other National Grid representatives at the meeting that those considerations were not within the commission's purview.

"Frankly and factually, these are considerations National Grid should have been making years ago," Welch said. "They're not part of our purview, and we cannot entertain them for consideration...I understand it's not cheap, and I understand it's not convenient, but there are some things where cheap and convenient can't rule the day, and I think this is one of them."

He suggested that National Grid consider restoring the building and moving it on the site closer to the other historic brick building.

Other members of the HDC also voiced their opposition to the proposed demolition.

"It's a rare and important structure that should be restored, and it's unfortunate that it has been left to fall into such disrepair and that it's unsafe," said HDC member Angus MacLeod. "I believe it should be stabilized and restored."

With the commission poised to deny the demolition application, Pohl suggested that National Grid be allowed to return to the HDC at a future meeting with a revised proposal for the building. Pizzi accepted the offer, and the application was held pending additional information from the company at a subsequent hearing.

If the demolition application is ultimately denied, National Grid would have the option of appealing that decision to the Select Board.

The building at 10 New Whale Street is part of a wider area along the waterfront that the town, along with other property owners including National Grid and Steve Karp's Nantucket Island Resorts, previously targeted for potential redevelopment, including a possible parking garage. The former Harbor Fuel tank farm located nearby was demolished and removed in 2022.

While those ambitious plans have since fizzled and gone quiet in recent years, the town and National Grid have utilized a portion of the former Nantucket Electric Company property for the valet parking program operated by Valet Park of America.