After an eight-year engagement, a local couple’s dream of transforming the old Salvation Army building atop Coles Hill into a posh wedding venue has withered.
Now, one of the highest profile vacant properties in town is back on the market.
“We were excited about that vision,” said Edward Gates, who along with his wife, Ayli, proposed the idea in 2017. “Who wouldn’t want to get married overlooking Plymouth Rock? It’s a spectacular location.”
While the Gates’s proposal was approved by town officials, including the Planning Board and the Plymouth Historic District Commission, an abutting property owner, Bradford Cushing, objected to the project at every turn.
Cushing, who did not respond to a request for comment, claimed that a wedding or function venue was not allowed in that area of town. He also claimed the project did not meet the zoning law’s parking requirements. Cushing appealed to the Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals to stop the project, then filed two lawsuits in state court when the ZBA denied his appeals.
“There wasn’t a credible basis for the lawsuits, but they took a lot of money, and they took a lot of time,” Gates said.
The Gateses won both cases by summary judgment, the last victory coming in September 2021. It was the thick of the pandemic, but despite that turmoil, they decided to move forward with finalizing the design and eventually obtained a building permit to start the project in 2023.
As work began – including the removal of asbestos discovered in all the interior walls of the Carver Street building, Edward Gates was about to turn 70 and faced a personal decision. He’d been working for more than 40 years at the law firm Wolf Greenfield, including a 10-year stint as managing partner. But the firm’s rules require partners to step down at 70, he said.
“When we began this, I was years away from retirement and the timing made sense. But the process took such a long period of time that it brought us to a place that for me and my wife it doesn’t make sense anymore,” Gates said. “It’s just not a great time to undertake the debt that would be required to finish the job.”
The Gateses bought the property in 2018 for $1.2 million. The distinctive structure, which needs major renovations, is now on the market for $2 million, through South Shore Sotheby’s International Realty.
“There has been a lot of interest,” said Ryan Ahern, the listing broker with Sotheby’s.
Potential buyers have a range of ideas for the property, Ahern said, from condominiums to a boutique hotel, to mixed-use concepts blending commercial and residential spaces.
While several offers have been made, discussions are ongoing and no deals have been reached, Ahern said.
Built in 1913, the stone-front building was originally the First Baptist Church of Plymouth. In 1960, it was sold to the Salvation Army, which operated its programs and kitchen there until moving to Long Pond Road in 2017.
The Gateses moved to Plymouth full-time in 2013, though Edward has a life-long relationship with the town. His grandfather, Angelo, worked at the Cordage Company. When his father Robert was a teenager, the family moved to Boston, where Edward was born, but they kept a summer cottage on White Horse Beach, which they still own.
When the Salvation Army moved out of the building, Edward and Ayli Gates were immediately taken with the idea of reviving the property.
“That building has always had a public aspect to its use, from the church to the Salvation Army, and we’d love to see it have a broad benefit for the community,” Gates said. “We are confident the right situation will come along.”
Michael Cohen can be reached at michael@plymouthindependent.org.