By Cate Lecuyer
BEVERLY — The Registry of Motor Vehicles on Cabot Street will close at 5 p.m. on Friday. On Monday, a limited office will open at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, in the corridor next to the A.C. Moore crafts store. It will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"The only services we won't offer are road tests and permit testing," said Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman for the Registry.
This "limited" office is a step above the previously planned express branch, which would not have handled services like out-of-state transactions, citations, titles and suspensions. Dufresne said the physical space, combined with the online capabilities, will allow the Registry to offer more services there than anticipated.
"You can now do 90 percent of the paperwork online before you go to a branch," she said.
The closing of the Beverly branch and opening of the Danvers branch were timed to provide a seamless transition with no interruption in service, Dufresne said.
Eight full-time employees, one part-time employee and one manager will move from the Beverly office to the mall. The remaining five workers will be sent to Registry offices in Wilmington, Revere and Haverhill. No RMV employees have been laid off, Dufresne said.
"We only have two areas where we can significantly reduce costs: leasing or labor," she said. "So the more we do with leasing, the less we do with labor."
With $13 million in budget cuts, the Registry of Motor Vehicles announced in July that it would close 11 branches statewide — a move expected to save $1.7 million annually in rent — and open five new branches in toll plazas, visitor centers and other state-owned buildings that wouldn't require a monthly payment.
Simon Property Group, which owns the Danvers mall, agreed to house the Registry for free. The RMV had a branch in the mall about 15 years ago and moved to Beverly in 1996.
Matt Bourassa, assistant general manager at the Liberty Tree Mall, said hosting the Registry is a good business move that's convenient for people.
"We are looking to redefine the concept of 'one-stop shopping,'" he said in a prepared statement. "And having the Registry on our property saves our shoppers a separate trip to a Registry several miles away, which is invaluable."
Dufresne said the RMV is also happy with the two-year lease arrangement.
"This really leverages a public-private partnership," she said. "And the mall owners recognize we can drive foot traffic to the location."
The Registry is scheduled to return to Beverly in 2012, with a branch inside the new parking garage once it's built.
Although the MBTA scrapped the proposal to build housing and retail as part of the garage project, Mayor Bill Scanlon has said the city is still committed to making it happen.
"We're still a part of that plan," Dufresne said.
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.
