Hancock Inn may not reopen until fall

Due in part to a rainy start to the summer, the Hancock Inn may take longer than expected to open. 

The Hancock Inn, located at 33 Main St., has been closed since April 2022, when Jarvis and Marcia Coffin sold it to Boston-based 33 Main Street Realty Group LLC for $1.15 million. Plans called for the building to reopen this summer, but according to Mark Fernald, the lawyer for 33 Main Street Realty Group LLC, recent weather conditions and some outstanding renovations may push the anticipated opening to September or later.

“The hope is to open as soon as possible,” said Fernald. “Right now, [developers] are in the process of putting in the patio. If it keeps raining, it will delay completion.”

According to Fernald, developers are working on raising and renovating the patio to ensure ramp accessibility for people with disabilities and be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. On Tuesday, June 27, the Hancock Historic District Commission (HHDC) approved the inn’s proposal to install a 8- by 24-foot wall on the east side of the building to help ensure coverage of the building’s kitchen vents. 

According to Fernald, 33 Main Street Realty Group is still waiting for approval from the HHDC regarding plans to build 4-foot metal fencing around the inn’s garden. According to Fernald, the HHDC is concerned the fence will not appropriately fit into the rustic look of Hancock’s historic district, and the next hearing is scheduled in August. 

The building is in Hancock’s Historic District, the purpose of which is to “safeguard the heritage of the Town of Hancock by providing for the protection of the structures and areas representing significant elements of its cultural, social, economic, political, and architectural history,” “enhance the visual character of the town by encouraging and regulating the compatibility of new construction within the Historic District to reflect or respect established architectural traditions” and “foster public appreciation of and civic pride in the beauty of the Town of Hancock and the accomplishments of its past.”