St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church (Haverhill)
This Armenian Church has been sold and demolish. A new church is being built in the general area: https://www.hyepointearmenianchurch.org/
Haverhill Historic Commission Vows Main Street Church, Demolished in 2017, Will Not be Forgotten
By Tim Coco | January 8, 2020
Although it was demolished two and a half years ago, Haverhill’s Historic District Commission hasn’t forgotten about St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church and is taking steps to make sure everyone else remembers too.
The Commission meets tonight to hear an update on its plans to install a permanent marker on the site of the former church. They are being helped by the new property owner, Domino’s Pizza.
Preliminary plans call for a raised image of the former church on a marker. During a recent meeting, member Peter Carbone read aloud the text that will accompany the image.
“This was the site of Haverhill’s mustering ground and worshipping center from the 1600s. The most recent church was designed by the American Institute of Architects’ founder, Alpheus Carey Morse, in 1848. This was the fourth building on this site. It was home to the First Parish Unitarian Church and most recently housed St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church from 1947 to 2016.”
The First Parish Unitarian Church, which dates to Haverhill’s founding in 1640, had several buildings of worship around the city common and downtown beginning in 1645. It left the property in 1926 when it began meeting within the Universalist Church on Kenoza Avenue. The two congregations merged in 1950, forming the Universalist-Unitarian Church of Haverhill. The church once faced the common—now known as GAR Park—and was rotated to face Main Street.
At a meeting during June 2016, councilors voted 6 to 2 against an ordinance which would have granted the Haverhill Historic Commission authority to both delay demolition of properties in the historic district and regulate designs of new buildings. Most councilors argued church parishioners need the money from the sale of the iconic church to complete a new building that has been in the works for 15 years.
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Deal to sell, demolish Armenian church for Domino's Pizza still in works
Late offer from outside group to buy, preserve St. Gregory the Illuminator accepted as a back-up By Peter Francis Dec 9, 2016
HAVERHILL — Despite a late effort by a group seeking to halt the demolition of St. Gregory the Illuminator, a sale and purchase agreement is still in effect between the building's owner, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, and a north shore developer.
David Jenks, owner of Master Pie, Inc. of Danvers, is looking to construct a Domino's Pizza franchise once the building is demolished on the corner of Main and Summer streets across from City Hall.
According to John Naroian, the attorney for the new Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Point, the deal between the diocese and the developer is underway and a proposal by Stephanie Mann, a local realtor who has made a recent effort to purchase the building, is contingent should the Jenks deal fall through.
"We're just moving along the course with the buyer," Naroian said, adding the diocese and the developer are working together on the demolition of the church. A demolition date has not been set.
While the address of St. Gregory the Illuminator is listed at 110 Main St. on the website of The Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Pointe, the congregation's new church being constructed at 1280 Boston Road, the only Main Street property listed in the city's property database website belonging to the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America is listed at 130 Main St.
Asked what the church property is being sold for — the 130 Main St. is valued on the city's property website at $679,700 — Naroian declined to comment, saying only that that information will be made public record when the deal is finalized.
Regarding Mann's offer to buy the church and preserve it, Naroian said he wants to know where she had been until now.
"The building's been for sale for the last 15 years," he said. "There was a deal to put a Burger King there which fell through."
Mann said Thursday she had an hour-and-a-half conversation about buying and purchasing the church last week with Rev. Fr. Vart Gyozalyan, the pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Point and formerly of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
She confirmed her offer had been had been accepted as a back-up offer. Mann said she's heard two rumors about how much Jenks offered — one she said was equal to hers and one was less.
"We've been talking to the Archdiocese in New York. We've had lots of people calling them," Mann said, adding the effort by her group to buy and preserve the church has drawn support from people via social media. "There is a spotlight on the church now."
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