Nothing preserves a building better than use. No easement, maintenance agreement, or conservatorship can come close to the protection of people in the building daily who have a vested interest in its condition and can notice issues and have them corrected before they get worse. 

Greylock has been empty for ages and its condition has worsened by the year.  Without continuous use soon, it will continue to deteriorate until it reaches a state where it will face no other option but demolition. That’s not hyperbole, it’s exactly what happened to St. Laurentius church in Fishtown. Opposition to adaptive reuse and redevelopment of the church into residential units stalled the project and led to further deterioration of the structure. It even received a historic designation from the Historical Commission in an attempt to save it. Those efforts all ended in the demolition of the church as it was beyond repair at that point. 

When I saw that the Chestnut Hill Conservancy was willing to consider modifying some of the easements at Greylock, I was pleasantly surprised. It tells me that the Conservancy and its leadership are focused on preservation, and realized that minor easement modification might be what it takes to finally get this property restored and in use again. 

There have been many proposals for this site over the decades and they've all failed to come to fruition. Luckily, there's a current owner with an active proposal that not only preserves the existing structure but also provides much-needed additional residential housing in Chestnut Hill. Hopefully, a final proposal can be reached soon that satisfies the Conservancy, the ZBA, and the property owner.

Tyler Britten

Chestnut Hill