BEVERLY — In a decision that could hobble the downtown Beverly business community, the state Registry of Motor Vehicles will close its branch at 176 Cabot St. — as well as 11 branches statewide — a move it says will save $1.7 million annually in rent.
However, the Registry says it will open five new branches at Massachusetts Turnpike offices, toll plazas and visitor centers, where the Registry won't have to pay rent.
"When you have $13 million in budget cuts, you've got to make some decisions," Registrar Rachel Kaprielian said.
The Beverly RMV is scheduled to close Sept. 11, Kaprielian said. By Sept. 14, a limited branch — meaning basic services like licenses, registrations and plates — will open in the Mass Highway District 4 Garage on Route 1 in Peabody.
"The goal is to not have a disruption in service," she said.
The branch closings will begin this month in Lowell and end in December in Boston.
In addition to Beverly, branches are also closing in North Attleboro, Cambridge, New Bedford, Springfield, Southbridge, Framingham, Falmouth and Eastham.
New plazas in Boston and Charlton will be full service. Branches in Natick, Bourne and Peabody will be "express" branches, according to the state.
The Registry has been in downtown Beverly, diagonally across from City Hall, since 1996. The branch serves an average of 566 people per day, making it the 11th busiest among the state's 35 branches, according to the Registry.
And losing those people won't be good for downtown, said Gin Wallace, Executive Director of Beverly Main Streets, the city's business organization.
"Those people who come into the RMV have found their ways to other stores and restaurants," Wallace said. "That's really a shame."
Don Preston, owner of the Casa de Moda gift shop on Cabot Street, said the RMV brings in business from the people who work there, the people who go there, and all the driving schools associated with it.
"They've been an integral part of business," he said. "The impact is going to be pretty dramatic."
He said it doesn't come as a complete surprise, because many state agencies are looking to house services in buildings they already own to save money on rent.
"There's a certain logic to it," Preston said. However, he said the state may lose money in sales tax in the long run.
"It may save the state money in one sense," he said, "and it may cost the state money in tax revenue downtown."
However, this might not mean a complete end for an RMV in Beverly, Mayor Bill Scanlon said.
Space set aside specifically for the RMV is included in design plans for the new parking garage by the Beverly Depot on Rantoul Street, he said. The project is scheduled to be complete by 2011.
"When it's done," Scanlon said, "there will be an RMV in Beverly again."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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