Old Hotel to Gain New Life in Shopping Center

For years, most people in Acton never paid much attention to the old Acton Hotel.

“I’m sure everyone just took it for granted that the building was going to be there,” said Joel Levy, president of the Acton Town Council.

That was before the rumors started circulating about the demolition permit two months ago.

And suddenly, people in the town of 7,500 were worried about the tiny, one-story brick building built in 1899, Levy said.

Levy contacted the building’s owner and found the demolition permit had been obtained to work on a septic tank. And when Levy asked the developer, Majestic Funding, to preserve the building, he was surprised to see the builder embrace the idea. “They were cooperative from day one,” he said.

In an agreement the town council approved last week after two months of negotiations, Majestic Funding agreed to incorporate the building in a shopping center. The company will restore the 91-year-old building and set aside the first floor for a museum and possibly a library, Levy said.

The building, made of locally crafted bricks, is one of the oldest structures in the former mining town. It had not been used as a hotel for several years, instead serving as home to a string of businesses. A community newspaper and a framing shop had occupied the building at Crown Valley Road and Smith Avenue until their leases expired last month, Levy said.

The hotel originally had two stories but the top story was removed after the Sylmar earthquake in 1971. Levy said the top story will be rebuilt, using historical photos as guides.

If necessary, the hotel will be disassembled brick by brick and reconstructed on another portion of the site when the shopping center is built, Levy said.