Scaffolding to Remain Indefinitely on Sawyer Realty Retail Property

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Scaffolding in Front of Sawyer Realty Buildings, Congress Street

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 1,331)

One day last December, massive scaffolding appeared on the front of H.H. Sawyer Realty Company & Daughters retail properties on Congress Street at the bottom of the Hill.  The scaffolding remains in place today and no one seems to know when it will be coming down; most of all the tenants in the building who have had greatly reduced access to their stores since late last year.

On December 21st 2012, unusually strong winds tore part of the roof off the buildings between CircaHome up to Ferdinand’s store.  Part of the roof hit a chimney preventing more of the roof from blowing away.  According to tenants in the area, much of that debris was dumped into the back yard of the stores.  Some of the properties in that block are owned by Alice Dunn, Portland Savage Co., but apparently  they were not impacted by the heavy winds last December as were the H. H. Sawyer Realty retail properties.

Not surprisingly in such a situation, Sawyer tenants report different experiences with their landlord.  One says Sawyer has not done enough to make the entries accessible to customers while another tenant says the company has done plenty.  It depends on who you talk to.  Tenants say they were told the repair work to the roof would be done by now and others say it has just begun.  Most say it has definitely impacted their businesses in a negative way.  They’d like to know when the scaffolding will come down and business will get back to normal; but no one at the family owned realty company is letting on.

A representative of H.H. Sawyer Realty Co. & Daughters said she had no comment on the matter earlier today in an abrupt telephone inquiry.

(editor’s note:  mhn.com is once again experiencing difficulty in posting photographs, but hopes to rectify the situation very soon! Thanks for your patience)