OOSTERMAN’S REST HOME, a landmark at 706 Main St. for decades. was demolished yesterday. Two single-family attached dwellings will be built on the site. (Mark Sardella Photo)
Published in the January 7, 2020 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The white stucco building with the mansard roof that was a landmark on the corner of Main and Charles streets for more than a century is no more.
Oosterman’s Rest Home succumbed to the wrecking ball yesterday morning. Actually, it was a Komatsu demolition excavator operated by B&E Services of Wakefield, but the result was the same. The building was reduced to a large pile of rubble by yesterday afternoon.
A Fire Department detail was present throughout the demolition, spraying water as a dust mitigation measure.
According to Patriot Properties, the former Osterman’s site at 706 Main St. was sold by the Oosterman family last October for $775,000 to an entity listed as “706 Main Wakefield, LLC,” which is also the company listed on the Building Permit Application.
A web search shows that 706 Main Wakefield LLC is a Massachusetts Domestic Limited-Liability Company filed on October 8, 2019. The Registered Agent listed for this company is Christopher Murphy of Wakefield, Mass. The company’s principal address is shown as 129 Water St., Wakefield. The company has two principals on record, Murphy and Keith Littlefield. The name Littlefield Real Estate of Saugus also appears on paperwork filed at the Building Department this week.
The .41 acre site has been subdivided into two lots. One single-family attached dwelling (duplex) will be built on each lot. The Planning Board endorsed an ANR (Approval not Required) plan for the site at its Nov. 12 meeting.
Each lot meets all legal requirements, including frontage and lot size so the project does not require any relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The site is in the General Residence District, so two-family homes are allowed by right. The plans on file show each unit consisting of about 2,400 square feet. Each unit will have three bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
Oosterman’s Rest Home had been operated by the Oosterman family for four generations. The Wakefield facility, which included 19 beds, was recently closed but the family still owns and operates Oosterman’s Rest Home at 93 Laurel St. in Melrose.
According to their website “Oosterman’s Rest Homes have served the Melrose and Wakefield, Massachusetts areas with a commitment to exceptional care at reasonable prices.” With private and semi-private rooms, Oosterman’s care has been described as “between assisted living and nursing homes.”
