PINK HOUSE: DEMOLITION OR RENOVATION – WHAT’S BEST FOR THE USFWS’S MISSION?

The mission of the US Fish and Wildlife is “working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats." Which of the below options do you feel best aligns with this mission? 

Options For The Pink House 
Option 1: Demolition, USFWS’s current plan. Save 1 acre of upland by demolishing the Pink House and placing it with a parking lot and viewing area similar to Greenbelt’s located just 350 yards down the road. While this viewing area will be of little benefit, the bigger issue with this option is it is not what the community wants and it will destroy a $400,000 government asset. This fact is contrary to the USFWS’s Environmental Assessment which did not account for the lot the Pink House sits on being nonconforming and the Pink House being grandfathered. This means this option will result in a house no longer being allowed to be built on the lot and therefore its current assessed value of $425,000 dropping to close to just $25,000. 

Option 2: Shore up the house and restore only the exterior. This can be accomplished at no cost to the USFWS by using up to $1 million in donated funds pledged to save the Pink House. An endowment could also be set up to cover ongoing maintenance and security expenses. This would preserve this cultural landmark for the community, eliminate all of USFWS’s stated concerns regarding the house, and preserve the acre's $425,000 assessed value so it could still be traded for 425 acres of ecologically important land (at the current value of $1,000/acre) in the future. 
Option 3: Renovate the Pink House. The USFWS may then use it to house personnel as originally planned or use it as a base for scientists, academics, and others who focus on barrier island study, seacoast resiliency, and marsh health. This option would mean the acre would not only retain its $425,000 value but double or even triple in value due to the renovation. Again, similar to shoring up and restoring just the house’s exterior, renovating the entire house can be accomplished at no cost to the USFWS by utilizing the $1 million in funds pledged to save the house. 

Option 4: Trade the house and its 1 acre, assessed at $425,000, for 425 acres of ecologically important habitat land. The Support The Pink House group (STPH) has an agreement with a restoration partner willing to use his own funds to purchase land for this trade anywhere in the country, as well as fund the restoration of the house under STPH's preservation restriction. This option would result in the house once again being added to Newbury's tax rolls as a single-family home. The house would be maintained by the new owner and USFWS would have zero responsibilities for upkeep or policing the property. 

(USFWS claims they spent 8 years unsuccessfully searching for land for this trade and it is too difficult to find. Neither of these claims is factual, however, and more importantly, with the recent pledge of up to $1 Million to save the Pink House, a portion of which can be used to facilitate this land trade, finding land now will certainly not be an issue.) 

Option 5: A hybrid of options 3 and 4 could be accomplished by the USFWS partnering with a university or other organization in a land exchange. This solution would involve using the $1 million in pledged funds to purchase land for the land trade, as well as renovate the house. The house and its 1 acre would 
then be donated to an organization to facilitate scientific research and education. However, without the restoration partner involved, there would be far fewer funds for finding land and its renovation. Just like the house becoming a single-family home, this option would relieve the USFWS of ongoing maintenance and security expenses while enabling them to acquire and protect 425 acres of ecologically important land. 

Hero or Bad Neighbor 
With the exception of option #1, every solution will result in the USFWS being recognized by the community as the hero who went above and beyond to save a beloved cultural landmark. Demolishing the Pink House, on the other hand, will destroy a $400,000 government asset, and solidify the USFWS's reputation as a "bad neighbor" who cares little about the community’s desires. It is hard to “work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats” if they don’t like or trust you. 

Bottom Line 
The only option clearly not in line with the USFWS’s mission is option #1, demolishing the Pink House. In fact, demolishing the house is the death of commonsense. It will result in protecting just 1 acre of upland, forever brand the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a “bad neighbor” and it is fiscally irresponsible as it will destroy $400,000 in government assets. 

The iconic Pink House  
The Pink House is located just before entering Plum Island on the Plum Island Turnpike in Newbury, Massachusetts. It has become a cultural landmark that helps make the community unique, similar to Rockport’s Motif #1, Gloucester’s Fisherman statue, and Ipswich’s Clam Box restaurant. It attracts photographers, painters, and other artists who have created a Pink House cottage industry that is helping the arts community flourish. The Pink House also helps the local economy by attracting visitors from near and far. The allure of the Pink House resulted in it winning North Shore Magazine’s most Instagrammable landmark award two years in a row. 
The Pink House and the 1 acre it sits on are owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service which is not allowed to simply sell land. While the USFWS did try to auction just the house off, it had to be moved from its current location which was not feasible, did not make sense economically, and was not what the community wanted. The USFWS can, however, trade the Pink House and its 1 acre for land of similar economic value but higher ecological value i.e. salt marsh or other habitat land. 

Saving the Pink House is supported by all area towns, the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, and The North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau. It is also supported by the Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey, MA State Senator Bruce Tarr, MA State Representative Kristin Kassner, Congressman Seth Moulton, and Senators Ed Marky and Elizabeth Warren. 

Written by Jeff Ackley, Treasurer, Board of Support the Pink House Inc