Weylu’s has finally sold, but at a discount price of $4 million.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
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Fifteen years after Weylu’s closed, the palatial hilltop restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus has been sold for $4 million, less than half of the asking price.
The Rocco DiNanno Group, a Malden-based real estate company which manages more than a million square feet of commercial properties in Greater Boston, got the 9-acre site for 63 percent off the list price of $10.7 million. The Weylu’s parcel is assessed at $3.37 million.
It’s unclear what will happen to the site. So far, no one is talking. DiNanno Group executive Joseph DiNanno, and the broker, Scott Dragos, did not return repeated calls for comment.
Robert Luongo, the economic development director in Saugus, said he was unaware of the sale until contacted by the Boston Business Journal. Following the Journal’s inquiry, Luongo said he called the DiNanno Group to find out their plans for the site.
“They asked for an in-person meeting rather than dicuss their plans over the phone and we intend to do that,” Luongo said. “Weylu’s is a gateway into Saugus, so whatever happens we wnat it to look right because its’s the first impression when you come into town.”
Built by founder Rick Chang during the late-1980s building boom for $13 million, Weylu’s outshined its competition on the stretch of Route 1 that includes Saugus, Lynnfield and Peabody.
It was easily the most opulent restaurant with its valet parking by attendants in tuxedos and the giant red pagoda entrance that was hard to miss by the nearly 89,000 vehicles that passed by on the busy highway daily. Inside, there were waterfalls, fixtures from China and pricey Asian art.
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