Historical commission clears the way for proposed Moody Street hotel

The Waltham Historical Commission voted at its Monday meeting that the vacant Moody Street shops bordering the Charles River don’t count as a historic Waltham building requiring preservation.

This is the next step necessary for a proposed redevelopment by the buildings’ owner Michael Colomba, who plans to replace the properties at 200-226 Moody St. with a mixed-use building including a restaurant, performing arts center and hotel. 

In December the Conservation Commission gave its approval to the redevelopment proposal. Commission member Philip Moser said the new building should have no impact on the Charles River, so long as construction meets all of the Commission’s conditions.

The current buildings — collectively referred to as 220 Moody St. — have stood vacant for years. A previous attempt to redevelop the property in 2011 stalled out after receiving this same go-ahead from the Historical Commission. Colomba bought the building in 2015 with the intent of redeveloping it into a hotel, but although his plans received city council approval in 2018, they were delayed as a result of air rights issues. 

In the meantime, they’ve been damaged by fire and the collapse of a roof, and parts have been condemned. After the roof collapse in 2021, Colomba told WCAC he hoped “the city [would] take this as a catalyst to speed things up” in the building approval process.

At the Aug. 11 WHC meeting, secretary Marie Daly presented on the history of the buildings. Contrary to building records, buildings have only stood on that site since the early 20th century. 

In the decades since, they’ve been renovated and have hosted a variety of businesses. None of their owners or businesses, said Daly, hold particularly historical significance to the city.

The WHC — whose role in the city is to preserve and oversee Waltham’s historic buildings and properties — voted 6-0 to classify the buildings as non-historic. One member was absent.

Before starting demolition on the current buildings, the project must appear in front of the WHC again for approval, so the commission can assess the demolition’s potential impact. Paul Finger, a consultant on 220 Moody St., said that next steps on the project are not “pressing” for this summer.

Additionally, the WHC

• voted to send a letter of endorsement to the Community Preservation Committee in favor of a $51,500 restoration project to fix wood rot in the First Parish Church steeple. The CPC will hear this case on Sept. 16.
• assigned chair Mort Isaacson to investigate questions about fire prevention and building materials that have been holding up the acceptance of a grant for renovations at the Robert Treat Paine estate.
• decided to send a letter to the Building Department in advance of the upcoming demolition of the Fitch school, to make sure previously agreed-upon elements of the building’s Art Deco architecture would be preserved.
• re-elected commission officers for the new year.