Demolition Imminent for Unstable Washington Street Building

A historic Washington Street building owned by the Church of Scientology is expected to be demolished next week after bricks fell from the structure last month, prompting the city to cordon off the area in the interest of public safety.

According to Attorney Marc LaCasse, the Church has hired a demolition contractor and is expecting work to begin within a week’s time. A demolition permit application was pending with the city’s Inspectional Services Department as of Wednesday, LaCasse said via email.

The former Ivory Bean building, located at 1769 Washington Street, was cordoned off in early February after a neighbor reported bricks falling from the façade. Firefighters warned that the wall was in danger of “imminent collapse,” and a structural engineer was called in to evaluate the property.

The city had previously notified the church of the building's condition, according to Paul Bradford, the Church’s Legal Administrator. But efforts to demolish the building sooner were delayed by the South End Landmarks District Commission, which reviews exterior renovations that take place within the neighborhood's historic district.

“The Church was specifically ordered not to demolish the building,” LaCasse said last month, referred to the Commission’s decision dated April 6, 2010.

In a second decision, which came after the Church submitted a report from a structural engineer, the Commission modified its stance and ordered that as much of the façade as possible be preserved and “some salvaged brick…be reused.”

With the building in such poor shape, LaCasse acknowledged the difficulty of preservation. A street-level storefront below the brick wall has been boarded up to cover what is probably a gaping hole in the building, he said. The rear of the structure is also caving in due to the weight of abandoned machines.

“There’s a whole lot of neglect and abuse that happened to that building over the years,” he said.