WATERTOWN — After almost a three-year delay, work finally resumed Monday on restoring the historic Masonic Temple on Washington Street.
Workers have been erecting scaffolding on the front of the landmark at 240 Washington St. to prepare for extensive repairs to the building’s portico roof.
Co-owner Robert J. Campany said he and his partner Augusta Withington, who co-own Fourth Coast Inc., a renewable energy company in Clayton, finally got preservation approval that allows the work to once again proceed.
“We’re ready to get going,” he said.
Plans now call for completing the roof repairs this fall “to protect everyone else underneath,” he said.
Once that is done, work will then begin on restoring a deteriorating column on the front of the building next spring. It’s been difficult to obtain some materials for that restoration work, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic also delayed the project.
City officials have been wondering when the work would finally start up again.
On Tuesday, Michael A. Lumbis, the city’s planning and community development director, was unaware that work resumed.
“We’re excited to see it underway,” he said.
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