Overview:
A partial demolition of a building at 339 Main St. in Athol was completed last week following reports of a wall bowing and bricks falling. Owned by Woodland Realty Trust, the structure formerly housed the Mix & Match store. Engineers plan to stabilize the remaining section with a new gable end wall.
ATHOL – Following a determination that the building at 339 Main St. was in danger of collapse, a partial demolition was done last week.
The partial demolition work began on Friday, July 17, with cleanup now underway.
The building was the former site of the Mix & Match store, which closed years ago. According to the Assessor’s Office, the building is owned by Woodland Realty Trust, which is run by Ian Kazanowski and his father David. The cost of the work will be covered by the owners.
Ian Kazanowki said the structure was built in 1860 and originally housed a shoe factory. He is unsure at this point what will be done with the portion of the building left standing.
According to Building Inspector Bob Legare, the building’s outside gable end wall had a large bow in it and some bricks were starting to fall.
“We knew the roof had a partial collapse a couple of years ago, so we’ve been trying to work through that,” he said. “I had to have a structural engineer evaluate it to see how much time we had and the engineer, Peter Reynolds, felt the building was in immediate danger.”
Reynolds confirmed that the only way to fully stabilize and secure the building would be to construct a new rear wall on the structure. The demolition was done by Bourgeois Wrecking of Westminster.
The plan, according to Legare, is to take the building back approximately 25 feet to where it is still solid. Reynolds will then create a plan for a new gable end wall with supports.
“Normally, when we give an order, it’s to repair, make safe or remove (the building). (The owners) were looking at total demolition, but that would have been pretty expensive, so they talked with the demo guy and Peter Reynolds and asked if they could do a partial demo,” said Legare. “That’s fine, as long as we get it in writing from the engineer that the building is safe.”
Legare said if the owner doesn’t pay for the work, the town could pay for it and then put a lien on the property.
Assessor Lisa Aldrich said the FY26 assessed value of the property was just over $560,000, adding that the FY27 assessments are just getting underway. Treasurer/Collector Amber Robidoux added the property is currently in tax taking for non-payment of taxes which, as of Tuesday, July 21, amounted to $78,414. She said the last time a payment was made on the past-due taxes was in May 2023, and the owner still has time to settle on the unpaid amount.