ATHOL – Three weeks after a housing court judge issued a decision giving the town permission to inspect the building at 465 Main St., officials say they plan to move forward with demolition.
The decision by the Select Board came on July 7, following the recent safety inspection of the property, owned by Jonathan Eldridge.
In his June 17 order, Judge Timothy Sullivan of the state’s Housing Court Central Division wrote that Eldridge remains in contempt of the court’s orders, dated on Jan. 15, 2025 and April 29, 2026, and that the property is a public nuisance.
Sullivan also ordered Eldridge to pay the town $50,000 for failing to address ongoing code violations and an additional $2,000 to compensate the town for bringing this legal action.
Attempts to reach Eldridge for comment have been unsuccessful.
Sullivan’s decision allowed the town, through its Board of Health, to enter the premises and attempt to abate the violations, or, if the Health Department determines in writing that demolition is necessary, proceed with that option. A receiver may also be appointed, should the town determine that demolition isn’t needed.
Eldridge has 30 days to appeal the judge’s order, after which the town has legal authority to take whatever action it deems necessary, according to Town Counsel John Barrett.
Inspection of 465 Main St.
Building Inspector Bob Legare and Health Agent Jane O’Brien went before the board on Tuesday, July 7, to report the results of the inspection of 465 Main St. Legare said the Board of Health has received complaints about the odor of mold and other issues at the building as far back as 2019.
“We’ve had to do some court actions, and we did an inspection about a year ago and saw the conditions,” Legare said. “We’ve been in and out of court a few more times since then….”
Legare said that during the inspection, he and O’Brien were accompanied by representatives of the fire, police, and public works departments, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski and Select Board Vice Chair Marc Maxwell.
“I was shocked at how bad the conditions got [in a year’s time],” Legare told the board.
Legare said much of the building was inaccessible “because the floors collapsed and the ceilings were starting to come down. The building is absolutely full of mold; the basement is flooded. I have concerns that building won’t stay standing much longer.”
He added that there are no working sprinklers in the building and the electricity has been shut off.
“I’m worried about the masonry wall in the front,” Legare said. “A collapse could cause that masonry wall to come out into Main Street. Unfortunately, it’s a large building in the center of town, so removal would probably be pretty costly.”
“There’s nothing that can be saved in that building,” O’Brien added. “The mold, the structural damage – it is completely unsafe and dangerous.”
Legare said the building is boarded up to prevent access and red Xs are posted on the exterior to warn firefighters against entry in the event of a fire. Additional signage will be posted, he said, and fencing has been installed at the rear of the building to keep people off the property.
“It’s bad,” said Suhoski. “It’s really bad.”
Suhoski told the board that currently, the town has no means to pay for demolition, and a quote for the work has not been done yet. The town has approximately $490,000 in its demolition account, but officials say it’s unlikely that would cover the costs of taking the building down.
Suhoski said he’s hoping that state and federal grants that the town has applied for could cover demolition of the adjacent building at 467 Main St., the former home of the York Theater, and that additional funding can be found to take down both buildings at the same time.
During the meeting, Barrett noted that Eldridge failed to appear for the June 17 hearing when Sullivan handed down his decision.
“We’ve had a hard time getting ahold of him. I guess if anybody knows where he is, he could come forward and we could be able to give him notices about what we’re doing,” Barrett said. “But the court has given the town the authority to demolish the building.”
Even with the addition of grants, Suhoski indicated town monies will likely be needed to cover the cost of demolition.
“We could have an eye toward the fall Town Meeting,” he said. “We have some working ideas on how to fund this. We’ll talk to Capital Planning….it’s urgent enough, and that would be the board’s determination, that maybe we have to borrow some funds.”
The board agreed that a quote on the cost of the demolition is needed before planning could begin. Suhoski said he hoped to have that information in time for the board’s next meeting on July 21.
“This is definitely a priority,” said board Chair Bill Chiasson.
The building at 465 Main St. was constructed in 1930, according to the assessor’s office. Eldridge purchased the building, along with a partner, in 2006 and became sole owner in 2018.