Inspector: Building at 15 Ferry St. now set for demolition, not moved to MHS space

By Steve Freker

A four-year period of uncertainty regarding the fate of a 115-year-old building in the heart of Malden Square appears to be over. Malden Building Commissioner Nelson Miller announced to the Malden City Council at a recent meeting that a demolition permit has been prepared and signed for the structure at 15 Ferry St. It was built in 1906 to serve as the Malden Industrial Aid Association by Mary Ida Converse, a prominent local philanthropist.

In 2019, the adjacent 1 Ferry St. building was torn down after years of disrepair and changing tenants. Originally, the owner intended to demolish the adjacent 15 Ferry St. building as well, but had a separate building demolition request by the owner, Alpha Business Center. That request was sent, by municipal ordinance, for review to the Malden Historical Commission, which eventually ruled the building had high historical value and should not be demolished.

The Historical Commission in 2021 came up with a review and plan by other interested citizens – two years after the original demolition request – to undertake a project, which would relocate the entire building to the east lawn of the Malden High School campus on Salem Street. At that time, Alpha Business Center withdrew its demolition request while the proposed “move the building” plan was being worked out.

“That plan never came to light,” Miller told the City Council – the proposed move, apparently, never advanced beyond the talking stages.

“A new demolition permit was requested by the owner in December 2023 and we requested a legal opinion from our Law Department before proceeding,” Miller told the City Council.

Miller said that he did receive a detailed letter from Malden City Solicitor Alicia McNeil, of which he provided a copy to the City Council, explaining that a demolition of the 15 Ferry St. building was allowed and that the present status did not require any action or decision by the Malden Historical Commission. “We did ask the owner of the building if the Historical Commission could be consulted to determine if any of the contents inside the building or if any pieces of the building itself were deemed worth to set aside and preserve for historical value,” Miller said.

There was no timetable discussed for the now-planned demolition of 15 Ferry St. nor the future planned use of the site.