A Massachusetts developer wants to tear down an 1823 brick building on Route 1 to build retail/office space, according to a proposal going before the Hampton Falls Planning Board for the first time.

Destruction of the building is what the formation of a historic district, rejected by voters last March, was meant to prevent, said Tracy Healey-Beattie, who is against the demolition. The structure is believed to be the lone, pre-Civil War brick building in town.

Those interviewed said they believed there is no law or code in place to prevent the building from coming down.

"The historic district would have prevented it," said Bev Mutrie, a Planning Board member who said she was speaking as a member of last year's ad hoc historic district commission. "There's nothing in place now to prevent it."
The Planning Board does have an architectural review," Mutrie said.

"We can say, we don't like your plan, fix it," she said. "We can't say, don't tear it down."

Developer Paul deRonde, of Rowley, Mass., is bringing forward the preliminary consultation for the property, which was occupied by Ann Keohan Real Estate, 76 Lafayette Road.

Keohan has moved, or is in the process of moving, to Florida, according to those interviewed.

The property has a tax value of $395,100.

The historic district and commission were rejected by voters last year who said the ad hoc committee was pushing through the idea without enough study.

Residents within the downtown district feared the implications in selling or renovating their property, and said the district was not inclusive of other historic structures.

The former ad hoc historic district commission is looking at passing a heritage commission in March 2008, Mutrie said.

"We knew this was coming down the pike with several buildings," Mutrie said, who added the committee did not know about the plans for the brick structure.

"We wanted to prevent buildings getting torn down willy-nilly," Mutrie said.