go to article Let's make a deal; Complex real estate transaction would bring CVS to Broadway By Bill Kirk , Business Editor Eagle-Tribune LAWRENCE - It's like the real estate version of a Rubik's cube. CVS wants to build a new pharmacy on a downtown block bordered by Broadway, Haverhill and Tremont streets. But to do so, the national chain needs to buy five pieces of property and move one of the owners to a new location before it can demolish all the buildings and put up an 11,000-square-foot store. While most of the property owners seem willing to sell, the complex, multimillion-dollar deal hinges on the sale of the Knights of Columbus hall halfway across town - and that sale seems to have fallen apart. "To make the deal work, a lot of dominoes have to fall - and a few of the dominoes aren't falling," said Community Development Director Tom Schiavone. In the works for at least a year, the transaction hinges on finding a place for the Firemen's Relief Inn, a social club at 92 Tremont St. owned by the Lawrence Firefighters Association. Association members are happy where they are, but also have said they would relocate. "If they found a building, we'd go," said Ray Torrissi, a firefighter and a bartender at the inn who used to be president of the 161-member club. Michael Tarshi Jr., who is involved in the deal to find the firefighters a new building, thought he had a perfect spot at the Knights of Columbus hall off Market and Hurst streets. He wanted to buy the Knights property, subdivide it into two parcels, sell the building to the firefighters and build an over-55 housing complex on the back side of the 2-acre lot. "I had a signed purchase-and-sale agreement with the Knights," he said. "I don't know why they backed out. I guess they had a meeting and decided they didn't want to sell it." That's more or less what happened, said George Gravel, grand master of the Lawrence chapter of the Knights of Columbus. "We decided we didn't want to go anywhere," he said. While members originally were interested, Gravel said, he himself talked them out of it. "I said, 'Let's try to keep the building,'" Gravel explained. He said one issue was that the original sale price of around $1 million kept dropping. "We had no place to go and they offered less and less every time we talked," he said. "Nobody ever tried to find us a place to go. It's like we owe it to them to disappear. For what reason?" One reason, according to Mayor Michael Sullivan, is that the Knights' liquor license is in danger because the organization hasn't installed an emergency sprinkler system as required by a state law passed in the wake of the Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island on Feb. 20, 2003. Under the law, bars and clubs with a capacity of more than 100 people must install fire suppression systems by Nov. 15 or lose their liquor license on Jan. 1, 2008. The Knights of Columbus hall has a capacity of more than 300 people. "They have until (the end of) December to install sprinklers," Sullivan said. Capt. Bill Lannon of the Lawrence Fire Department said two clubs in the city have failed to get plans approved and sprinklers installed, and the Knights is one of them. The other is a family-owned nightclub that is going out of business. Lannon said the Knights could continue to operate without sprinklers, but couldn't serve alcohol. Gravel, reached Thursday night at the K. of C., refused to comment on the club's liquor license. City officials plan to continue trying to convince the Knights to sell the building to complete the deal. "The city has talked a little bit to the Knights," Schiavone said. "That's in the process now. We can't force a sale. We just want to inform them how important an economic development project this would be to the city" CVS also continues to push for the project, especially given its investment. Earlier this year the company bought a house that was going into foreclosure at 395 Haverhill St. for $200,000, said Mark Browne of Browne Realty Advisors, a Boston real estate company putting the CVS deal together. Browne said he had agreements with other property owners on Broadway, Tremont and Haverhill streets, too. Daniel Cotnoir, vice president of the Racicot Funeral Home, which owns property on both Broadway and Haverhill Street, is eager to sell. "We're just waiting for everything to fall into place," Cotnoir said. He said he speaks with Browne frequently and was offered a fair price for the property. "They worked very hard," he said. "We accepted their letter of intent." The owner of the property at 98-981/2 Tremont St. could not be reached for comment. Julio Anziani, who owns a two-family unit at 100 Tremont St., said he'd rather not have a CVS so close by because "it would be noisy," but that if CVS wants to buy his house, they could have it. "I've talked to a couple of other neighbors. They all want to sell, too," he said. Samuel Maisonet, who owns several pieces of residential property on Tremont Street, is in favor of the project. "It would be a service for us," he said. "I think it's a good idea. Tarshi, for his part, isn't giving up on the deal. "I still feel firmly the deal will go through," he said. "I just want to do what's best for the city. If a CVS were there, the whole corner would look great." Box/graphic: These are the properties that would be sold to make room for a new CVS. In all, they comprise about 60,000 square feet of land fronting Broadway, sandwiched by Haverhill Street to the south and Tremont Street to the north: * The Racicot Funeral Home property includes 252-256 Broadway and 391 Haverhill St., both owned by David and Nancy Cotnoir, as well as 389 Haverhill St., owned by Edgar Racicot. The funeral home is interested in relocating, according to owner David Cotnoir. * CVS owns a boarded-up three-family house at 395 Haverhill St., purchased from GMAC Realty, according to Mark Browne, the real estate broker putting the CVS deal together. * Car repair shop at 266 Broadway. The automotive business remains in operation, says the owner. * The Lawrence Firefighters Association owns two parcels of land between 90-96 Tremont St., which includes the Relief Inn, a function hall and bar/lounge for its 160 members. * Luis Velez and Maximiliano Lopez own 98-981/2 Tremont St., a multifamily house with an additional house at the back of the property, according to city records.