Northampton's Silverscape Designs has been sold
NORTHAMPTON — The 94-year-old First National Bank of Northampton building at 1 King St. — which for 27 years was Silverscape Designs — sold in late September for $1.3 million.
The buyer is JP Morgan Chase Bank, according to documents on file at the Hampshire Registry of Deeds. Neither a Chase Bank spokesman nor Silverscape owner Wallace Perlman could be reached for comment.
The 7,951-square-foot, limestone and granite building, described as the “centerpiece of Northampton,” had been on the market with a $2 million asking price. It was built in 1928.
The building, and its prominent spot at the corner of Main and King streets, have been vacant since the end of 2020 when the jewelry store closed its doors.
While details about the building’s future could not be confirmed, the purchase comes as JP Morgan Chase Bank, the country’s largest bank, is looking to expand into Western Massachusetts. JP Morgan Chase plans to open its first Springfield branch in February in a former downtown bank building there.
Realtor Patrick M. Goggins, of Coldwell Banker Community Realtors, who handled the Northampton transaction for the seller, said Saturday he was “not in a position to comment” on behalf of JP Morgan Chase Bank. He noted, though, that he believes the community will be “thrilled” with what’s ahead.
Goggins, a longtime Northampton resident with decades of experience in real estate in the city, said the property took time to market because of its age and the need for structural improvements. While the structure “had a lot of issues,” Goggins said he is confident the property will return to being a vital part of the city’s downtown economy.
“That corner now has a real solid future,” Goggins said. “This was something worth waiting for.”
Perlman first put the building up for sale in 2019, promising to move the jewelry store that his late brother, Denis Perlman, founded to a smaller location. In 2020, Wallace Perlman closed the store, saying it was time to retire and that the jewelry business was not as brisk as it once was.
Denis Perlman, an avid airplane enthusiast and licensed pilot, died in a single-engine plane crash in 2000. He had moved his jewelry business into the old bank in 1993.
The building features original chandeliers and custom-built lamps. The former teller windows were transformed into stations for jewelry repairs and appraisals. The interior’s dominant feature is the stained-glass skylight that depicts the 12 signs of the zodiac.
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