HOLYOKE — Due to several permitting issues, the city met with the owners of Schermerhorn’s Seafood in Holyoke last week after renovations were temporarily halted due to a stop-work order.
Frank DeMarinis, owner of SAGE Engineering & Contracting Inc. in Westfield, bought the property at 224 Westfield Road last October. He co-owns the business with his partner Michael “Mick” Corduff. The two of them also own The Log Cabin, The Delaney House and D. Hotel Suites & Spa, adding Schermerhorn’s to an array of businesses owned by the duo. With an extensive background in the culinary business, Corduff will be working as an executive chef once Schermerhorn’s opens.
“He understands who our clients are and is going to really help this restaurant succeed and make customers happy,” DeMarinis said about Corduff.
Schermerhorn’s has lived in Holyoke for 112 years and DeMarinis plans to keep the business model the same as a sit-in lobster and seafood restaurant, with its retail store and wholesale seafood business remaining open and the ice cream window remaining open seasonally.
“We’re going to replicate the business model and put a modern spin on it,” said DeMarinis.
However, Schermerhorn’s renovations have been stopped due to contentious discussions between DeMarinis and the city over multiple permit and coding issues that date back to December last year. DeMarinis claims to have followed state laws but is being delayed by the city.
“I want to express how grateful I am to Frank for investing in this area and doing what he can to make a complicated site work,” said Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia in a statement. “How we get there is where we differ.”
The first stop work order was issued Dec. 3 by Holyoke Building Commissioner Leslie Ward, who inspected the site after receiving a complaint that the building had been demolished except for the front wall facade.
The original permit DeMarinis received allowed for full renovations to replace the flooring and ceiling, to repair and paint interior walls, to modify and repair roofs as needed, and to remove the east deck, porch and overhang. There was no record of any demolition paperwork.
“There was no demolition permit that was ever issued for the property,” Ward said. “It’s a whole different kind of permit from what he originally submitted.”
Negotiations began between DeMarinis and the city with the Holyoke Building Department asking him to complete a site plan review process. DeMarinis did not want to complete this process, but an agreement was reached to issue a framing permit on the condition that he comply with all zoning and stormwater requirements, and that he apply and receive a special permit from the Holyoke City Council to reconstruct the building.
“At this point Frank did not want to submit a site plan review through our planning board,” Ward said.
Ward explained that the framing permit allowed DeMarinis to continue work with different city departments to allow them to fulfill a legal survey. The special permit was approved by the City Council with the condition that the legal survey be done, however the survey never occurred.
Between December and May, construction on the site resumed without completion of the survey by DeMarinis. A retaining wall was built that is not in accordance with the framing permit’s dimensions of the property, according to the city. A second stop-work order was submitted May 16 after the Holyoke Fire Department’s inspection revealed a lack of fire safety protocols.
“The building commissioner wants to delay renovations,” DeMarinis said.
On Monday, DeMarinis and his attorney met with Ward, Mayor Garcia, the city solicitor, and the police and fire departments to negotiate what needed to be done for construction to continue. DeMarinis was told that several actions needed to be completed:
Alter the floor plan to show the proper dimensions of the property.
Submit an easement application for approval by the Department of Public Works due to boundary concerns.
Complete the legal survey that will outline calculations for parking lot dimensions, build a guard rail along the street side of the property and create a plan for traffic mitigation and exterior lighting aiming to avoid the disturbance of residents and abutters on the street.
“I’m not asking for anything that’s unusual, strange or different,” Ward said. “These are reasonable things that any permit application process scope of this size would require … we want to see Schermerhorn’s opened. We have absolutely no reason to stop this business from operating. I’ve always loved Schermerhorn’s so I have no desire to hold this back.”
There is currently no timeline for the reopening of Schermerhorn’s.
Sam Ferland can be reached at sferland@gazettenet.com
