Push To Save Swampscott's Historic Pitman House Faces Critical Test

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The push to move and restore the exterior of the historically significant Richards-Pitman House in Swampscott faces a crucial test on Tuesday when the Zoning Board of Appeals will take up a petition for a special permit for a variance that will allow for the building to be placed on a new lot on Hillside Avenue.

The Affordable Housing Trust voted to back the proposal, which would include the Trust and other grants funding the moving and exterior restoration of the Revolutionary War-era house before it the Trust can then recoup some or all of its investment through the sale of two units within the house at affordable rates.

If not relocated, the Richards-Pitman House — which records indicate was home to both Revolutionary War hero Joseph Richards and Samuel Cloon Pitman, one of the three founding selectmen of Swampscott after it separated from Lynn in 1852 — is set to be razed during the pending construction of the new 40B Elm Place housing project.

"The town needs to make a choice," Swampscott Historical Commission Chair Nancy Schultz told Patch on Monday. "It does have an important history and it's about how much we value preserving these historic buildings in our community.

"We are hoping this partnership with The Affordable Housing Trust can show how we can be innovative in affordable housing in Swampscott. We think it is a viable model that people will be excited about and replicated with other historical buildings in town."

Schultz said the variance would allow the house to sit on the lot in a way that is in alignment with other properties in the neighborhood but is not compliant with current zoning that was passed for the district in more recent years.

While the exterior has changed over time — the renovation would restore the look of the the outside of the building to more of its classic characteristics — the inside includes framing in the basement consistent with a vintage Revolutionary War style and it is one of the oldest standing structures in the town.

"If it were my neighborhood I would prefer to see a historic house next to me rather than risk the possibility of a 40B (development that could be much larger)," Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher, who supports the project, told Patch on Monday. "This was a house who belonged to two very selfless people in our history and it would benefit our community and that neighborhood to have it preserved."

Complicating the project is the urgency of it. With construction of Elm Place set to begin, a plan is needed in place soon in order to save the Richards-Pitman House. Schultz told Patch the ZBA variance is the next necessary step in that process before the logistical and funding work can be finalized with the Affordable Housing Trust.

Housing Trust Chair Kim Epstein-Martin told Patch that while the smaller unit will not create some of the density questions that come with a large development there are challenges involved with developing homeowner affordable housing compared to rental properties that will have to be addressed.

"We are supporting the next step in the process that is being for the zoning variance," she said. "That is how far we got. Then, obviously, if that comes to pass we have to figure out how to design the financing to make it work.

"There is really no good model you can replicate all of the time and no good formula for how it will work."

Schultz sees it as a challenge worth figuring out that both preserves important pieces of town history as well as creates more opportunities for those who want to live in Swampscott.

"Rather than see these historic buildings fall to the wrecking ball it seems we can solve two problems at once," Schultz said. "This will allow the preservation two units of housing to work toward solving Swampscott's affordable housing issue. Once you lose a historic house, you'll never have it again.

"It can bring so much positive attention to the town to have a project like this. It could be a model not only for our community, but for other communities as well, and is totally in line with sustainability thinking of recycle and reuse."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)