ATHOL – Judge Timothy Sullivan of the state’s Housing Court Central Division has given the owner of 465 Main St. until Oct. 1 to pay the town of Athol $50,000 for failing to address various code violations at the property.
The judge handed down his decision following a hearing on June 17 which property owner Jonathan Eldridge did not attend. Attempts to reach Eldridge for comment were not successful.
In his order, Sullivan said he was issuing the fine based on a penalty of $100/day for 500 days, for his “refusal or failure to abate the violations as ordered since January 31, 2025.”
Edridge was also ordered to pay the town $2,000 in court costs. In addition, the judge granted the town permission to impose a lien on the property, which abuts the former York Theatre, located at 467 Main St.
The town took ownership of the old theater building, once the home of the Lucky Lanes bowling alley, in 2023. A lien had been placed on the property, owned at the time by E&G Realty Trust, for failure to pay around $65,000, taxes, interest and legal fees which had accrued since 2016, which allowed the town to take ownership.
Town Manager Shuan Suhoski told the Athol Daily News that 465 Main St. “is a commercial building that’s been the subject of complaints, court orders – it’s condemned. It’s a safety issue, it’s an eyesore.”
He also said the court has given the town permission to determine the condition of the property.
“So the town received permission from the court to convene a code inspection of the premises,” he added. “There are inspectors working on that right now to put together a work plan, and we’re rounding up the appropriate officials to do that. Then a determination can be made on what the next steps would be.
“I’m glad we’re taking action, I’m glad the court took action,” he said. “We’ll probably get into that property, certainly within the next 10 days.”
The inspection, said Suhoski, would allow officials to assess the overall viability of the structure and assess other areas of concern.
“We have to access what we have, then we’ll know what remedial action to take,” Suhoski said.