Weston Select Board declines gift offer of historic depot

WESTON -- March 11, 2025, Weston Select Board declines depot gift, citing $2M restoration estimate. The board on March 11 declined to accept the historic Weston Depot at 55 Church Street as a gift from attorney Leonard Zeid, who purchased the structure in December for an Essex client. Chair Tom Palmer called it "a liability, not an asset," citing scars from the long Josiah Smith Tavern repurposing. Member Lise Revers pegged restoration at $1.5 to $2 million and noted the town already cannot fill the renovated Fisk Law Office or three vacant Case Estates buildings. Zeid agreed to hold title and insurance for roughly a year while Historical Commission member Phyllis Halpern tests grassroots fundraising interest, possibly through the dormant Weston 300 nonprofit. If no plan emerges, Zeid's client, Trinity Partners founder John Corcoran, will dismantle the depot and reassemble it on his Essex property.