April 29, 2019
By Gayla Cawley/The Daily Item

The city’s long drought without a hotel could end soon.

A boutique hotel is one of the options under consideration for a new use for the Masonic Hall, which was purchased last week by Swampscott developer Charles Patsios.

Patsios, who bought the historic building on Market Street for $1.1 million, said he’s considering several options for the property, but cited a need for a hotel and function hall in the city.

The city’s last hotel, a Days Inn on the Lynnway, which had previously been the Harbour House, closed between September 1994 and June 1995, according to Lynn Museum executive director Drew Russo.

“I’m extremely excited about the progress the city of Lynn is making and I’m very happy to be able to continue to invest in the city,” Patsios said. “One of those investments is 64-68 Market Street … A hotel is a viable solution if things keep going the way they are in the city.”

Patsios said he is also considering office space and other professional leasing options, but that it would be premature to discuss his potential plans further because he has had no time to do a market analysis on the property.

“We have a lot of work to do before we can tell what it’s going to be,” Patsios said. “We don’t need another failure in Lynn. We need a success. We need to make sure we do it right.”

James Cowdell, Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn executive director, said the property’s zoning allows a hotel by right.

He supports the idea of a boutique hotel, citing well-attended events in the city such as shows at the Lynn Auditorium and North Shore Community College graduations.

“Lynn needs a hotel,” Cowdell said. “Hotels are working all around us. They will work here. Mr. Patsios is the same person who was able to buy the GE site for the Market Basket project. He would put a top end hotel at this historic site and it would be successful in my opinion.”

Ward 5 Councilor Dianna Chakoutis, who represents the area where the Masonic Hall is located, said on Monday that it was the first she was hearing about a potential boutique hotel at the site.

Chakoutis said she’d have to hear more about the idea before taking a position and planned to meet with Patsios and EDIC/Lynn on Tuesday.

Patsios has had a purchase and sale agreement on the Masonic Hall since February, but closed on the four-story brick building last Monday. The 23,000-square-foot building is assessed at $560,600, according to land records.

Built in 1880, the high Victorian Gothic architectural style property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The seller, the Lynn Masonic Temple Association, is comprised of three divisions of Massachusetts Freemasons: Mount Carmel Lodge A.F. and A.M., Golden Fleece Lodge A.F. and A.M., and the chapter.