Developer's Unpermitted Sign Ordered to Come Down

A sign that a developer admits was put up without the required town permit will come down, but go back up later this month with the town's OK.

The developer of Penguin Hall has been ordered by the Wenham Planning Board to take down a sign publicizing the hiring of a construction company for the project. The developer, Chris Wise of Wise Living, admitted that the sign was put up without a needed town permit. The sign exceeds the allowable sign size and required a special permit from the Planning Board. The sign was up before Wise went before the Planning Board last Thursday for a public hearing where the board would decide whether to grant the permit. “You did it in the wrong order,” Planning Board chairman David Geikie told Wise. “I am offended by the order you did this.” Geikie said the move "showed a cetain lack of respect for the procedure" and said it was "out of character" …

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Patch Facts

Five Things to Know on Jan. 10: Dog Hearing in Wenham

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Thursday, Jan. 10. Here are five things you need to know in Hamilton and Wenham: 1. Sun: Thursday is forecasted to be a sunny day, with temperatures getting up into the 40s again with wind blowing between 11 and 15 miles per hour. 2. Dog: There will be a dog hearing in Wenham on Thursday evening. The animal control officer is holding a public hearing “on the possible dog restraint” of a dog that lives at 30 Hilltop Dr. and has allegedly attacked other dogs. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Wenham Town Hall. 3. Armenia: Ruth Thomasian from the Project SAVE Armenian Photographic Archives in Watertown appears at Pingree School at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The event is open to the public and part of a visit next month from two Armenia teachers…

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Live Chat with Mullen Developers; Wednesday at 1 p.m.

A live chat with Jim Mullen and Chris Wise of Wise Living, the two developers of the planned 238 unit senior living complex planned for Penguin Hall and the Mullen property in Wenham.

Chat live right here on Hamilton-Wenham Patch with Jim Mullen and Chris Wise of Wise Living between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Mullen and Wise two developers of the 238 unit senior living complex planned for Penguin Hall and the Mullen property in Wenham.

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Chat Live with Mullen Developers on Wednesday

Jim Mullen will appear on a live chat on Hamilton-Wenham Patch on Wednesday to discuss the plan to redevelop the former Mullen Advertising property - Penguin Hall - into senior living units in Wenham.

Jim Mullen, the property owner and co-developer for a planned 238 unit senior living complex in Wenham, will take part in a live chat with Hamilton-Wenham Patch users this Wednesday. He will be joined by his business partner, Chris Wise of Wise Living. The format is a question and answer session over the course of an hour and readers can weigh in right here on Hamilton-Wenham Patch. We'll do our best to get to as many questions as we can in that time. So, if you're eager to find out more in advance of a Wenham Annual Town Meeting vote on Saturday on two zoning changes required to move the project forward, join us. Come prepared on May 2 between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. On the Town Meeting warrant is Article 17, which asks voters to create an …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Dec. 2

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Friday, Dec. 2. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Hamilton-Wenham Stuff: Sunday is the final day that the “Hamilton-Wenham Stuff” online store will be open. It is your final chance before the holiday to buy all sorts of Generals insignia gear, including sweatshirts and Under Armour shirts. 2. Carter-Williams: Friday night will be the college basketball national TV debut for Hamilton basketball star Michael Carter-Williams. Carter-Williams, a freshman on Syracuse University, will be part of the No. 3 ranked Syracuse squad that will take on No. 9 Florida at 7 p.m. on ESPN. 3. Penguin Hall: The second of two days to sit down and hear about the plans to redevelop Penguin Hall on the Mullen property in Wenham comes today. Both …

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Latest Plan for Mullen Property Calls for 238 Senior Units

Jim Mullen will be a partner in a new senior living complex on the site of the old Penguin Hall on the Mullen property in Wenham.

A Cape Cod developer wants to come to Wenham, converting and expanding the old Penguin Hall into an independent senior living complex consisting of up to 238 two-bedroom units. Chris Wise, owner of the development firm Wise Living that has built six similar complexes on Cape Cod and is building two more, would develop the complex in partnership with Jim Mullen. The Mullen advertising firm occupied the mansion and its 50-plus acres off Essex Street until it moved to Boston in mid-2009. Mullen still owns the property. Wise and Mullen, along with architects from EGA Architects, met early Tuesday to present preliminary plans for a new senior living complex that would open in 2014. The meeting was attended by Board of Selectmen Chairman Molly …

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Robert Gates

2:49 pm on Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The square footage does refer to the construction costs and a correction is being made to the original story.   more ›