NEWBURY – NEWBURY – Plum Island residents got a close look last week at the proposed four condo that may soon be their neighbors and serve as a new gateway for tourists and residents of this beach community.
The condos at the intersection of Plum Island Turnpike and Sunset Drive would replace the old Plum Island Grille. The current design by Chris Crump with CWC Design pays homage to the Victorian style of the Plum Island Hotel, a popular 19th century resort that stood where the Sunset Club is now.
The proposed color scheme for the condos also includes touches of pink to honor the iconic Pink House, which was torn down earlier this month.
The Newbury Conservation Commission is scheduled to review the plans for the condos this week, and the Zoning Board of Appeals will consider them on April 17.
Land owner Mark Friery, who bought the property 27 years ago and was a partner in the Grille until seven years ago, had two options: lease the restaurant building to another restaurateur or develop the property as residences.
The restaurant option was closed when the former owner Francis Broadbery destroyed the bars and other parts of the Grille with chainsaws. He is now facing felony charges of criminal vandalism totaling more than $400,000 in damages.
“It didn’t go the way I had hoped,” Friery told the neighbors.
To comply with Newbury’s code, a new restaurant would also have to be elevated, requiring a new 96-foot ramp.
Friery asked Crump to design and Steve Sawyer with Millenium Engineering to design the proposed condos so the neighbors and the town officials could see what he is proposing for a new island gateway.
The four, two-story condos in two buildings, each 1,800 square feet of living space, will be elevated with parking beneath. A roof top deck is planned for each condo, 35 feet high so the residents will enjoy a view Frank Bertolino with North Shore Realty called the best sunset view on the marsh. They will also have an ocean view at sunrise.
The three-bedroom condos are expected to be listed for about $1.7 million, Bertolino said.
Friery told the 10 residents who attended the unveiling of the new condos that the condos would be easier neighbors to live with. There would be no 6 a.m. dumpster pickup or all-day food and beverage deliveries as there was with the Plum Island Grille.
Gone will be 12,000 square feet of pavement that was used for parking, replaced with a pervious material, improving the drainage on the property will help reduce puddling on the turnpike.
Traffic will be improved. Instead of cars for the 125-seat grille and 160-seat Sunset Club, the condos will generate little more than four or eight cars.
The dune on the site will also be restored with beach grass. And the sidewalk area for dog walkers and beach goers will be improved, enabling people to walk to the beach without being exposed to traffic.
There are no guarantees that Friery’s dream for his property will come to pass, but he assured the neighbors that a developer/builder would not likely want to spend the money for a new architectural design and go through the town’s permitting process to create a new vision for this property without more emphasis on the economics.
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