Photo courtesy of Boston Landmarks Commission
The owner of Jamaica Plain’s former Eblana Brewery is seeking permission to demolish the 19th century structure, which has been the subject of failed redevelopment and preservation attempts in recent decades.
Newton-based Triad Alpha Partners acquired the property in 2013 and met with neighborhood residents to discuss a potential redevelopment, but no formal development proposals have been submitted to Boston officials. A previous owner proposed loft-style condominiums in 2005, but the project never moved forward.
The Boston Landmarks Commission received a demolition delay application for the 117 and 123-127 Heath St. structures. Owners of buildings over 50 years old are required to gain Landmarks Commission approval following a demolition delay process under Article 85 of the Boston zoning code.
A public comment period is under way, and the Landmarks Commission will hold a hearing on the application at Tuesday’s meeting. The property does not have any formal historic protections, but the demolition delay period runs for 90 days before any demolition can take place. The Landmarks Commission has 40 days following the hearing to issue a ruling on alternatives to demolition.
A local nonprofit preservation group had hoped to save the brick and granite structures, originally completed in 1886, but concluded that the main brewery building is not salvageable because of its deteriorated condition.
Last year, Historic Boston Inc. hired an engineer to conduct a comprehensive structural assessment, Director of Real Estate Development Tony Lopes said in a recent email. The costs of addressing core structural deficiencies made adaptive reuse of the 42,808-square-foot main brewery building unfeasible, and the layout of the building isn’t suitable for a residential conversion, the group concluded.
However, HBI is advocating for preservation of a 9,800 square-foot building on the 117 Heath St. property, which was found to be in better condition. The two parcels total nearly 2.1 acres.
The Boston Preservation Alliance also has sought to preserve the site, which was included on Preservation Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resource List in 2018.
Known as the John R. Alley brewery, it was one of two dozen breweries located in the Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Mission Hill neighborhoods before Prohibition. It produced Eblana Irish ale, named after the Greek word for Dublin.
In later years, it was used for Canada Dry ginger ale bottling, warehousing and manufacturing.
