The King Arthur’s building is just barely in Chelsea, but since the 1970s, it has been a thorn right in the middle of the community’s conscience.
Now, those reminders of bad times past at the former strip club and motel in the industrial district are about to come down with the wrecking ball – to be replaced by a recreational marijuana store.
GreenStar Herbals will be before the Conservation Commission on Nov. 7 for a hearing on their Notice of Intent to demolish the former King Arthur’s building. The building is actually in the waterfront flood plain and has to provide flood storage areas and other water infiltration systems.
Con Com Chair John DePriest said it is a milestone worth noting.
“The Con Com will most likely approve,” he said. “The new building they are building is smaller so it would be able to provide for parking and landscaping. You’ll still have the other old buildings around it that don’t look great, but at least you have this building and the old building will be gone. You have to start somewhere.”
City Manager Tom Ambrosino said it was a milestone to get rid of that building, and he was glad to see some new investment there.
“The City has been very supportive of that project, and it’s about time that old building was gone,” he said.
There is no timeline for the demolition, if approved, but it expected to come sometime in the new year or late this year.
The new operators would be opening a recreational marijuana retail store on the site, a store that still needs several state and City approvals.