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HOUSE IN BLAST WILL BE REBUILT
Author(s): Eun Lee Koh,
Globe Staff Correspondent Date: April 10, 2003 Page: 4 Section: Globe
West
The owner of the house on Main Street in
Hopkinton that exploded last summer has received permission from the town
to rebuild on the property.
The Zoning Board of Appeals voted
unanimously to grant the owner, Leonard Pearson, and his architect, Miguel
A. Linera, a special permit to build on the business district property at
65 Main St., which has been vacant since the July 24 explosion that
wrecked the four-unit house, killed two sisters, and left 10 other people
homeless. According to the board's decision, filed with the Town Clerk
last week, Pearson and Linera have permission to build another four-unit
house on the lot, which is in downtown Hopkinton near small shops, Town
Hall, and the police and fire departments. The house will have a parking
spaces to the rear of the property and a driveway on the west side of the
lot, according to the April 3 decision.
Linera, a Hopkinton resident who will
design the new building, said plans are still in the early stages and
declined to comment on any specifics. He has met with Pearson to discuss
what the house will look like. Although there has been discussion of a
possible memorial at the site, no formal plans have been drawn, he said.
"I'm aware that this is a very
sensitive issue, so I want to treat this very carefully," said Linera,
a designer for A. I. Architecture and Interior Design in Hopkinton.
"I am hesitant to report plans that we haven't finalized."
Pearson did not return phone calls
seeking comment.
Mary Harrington, a member of the Zoning
Board of Appeals, said because the lot was in a business district, Pearson
needed to obtain a special permit to rebuild. Pearson had a year from the
time that the house was destroyed to request the permit, she said.
Harrington, who is also the clerk on the
board, said the day of the explosion was an emotional one for the town and
for her personally. As a young girl, she used to spend time inside the
house with a classmate who lived there.
The board was in agreement about this
from the beginning," Harrington said. "This was a very big event
in Hopkinton, and we all want to rebuild and recover from that
event."
Structurally, the new house will probably
resemble the old one, Harrington said, but will be required to meet the
most current safety regulations. According to the permit application, it
will have four units, with two- or three-bedroom apartments on the first
and second floors and the attic.
The old house exploded in the early
morning last July, killing Violet Carey, 5, and Iris Carey, 4. The state
fire marshal's office, which is investigating, has not yet determined the
cause of the explosion.
Pearson was of the parties named in a
civil suit filed by Tara and Heath Carey, the parents of the girls who
died. Other defendants are the NStar Gas Co. and Inner-Tite Corp. of
Holden, the maker of an adapter used to connect the external gas line to
the building. The suit is pending.
Eun Lee Koh can be reached at ekoh@globe.com
or at 508-820-4238.
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