Old Lowe’s languishes

Published 6:35 pm Saturday, November 15, 2014

The old Lowe’s building on Godwin Boulevard, owned by a Suffolk-born, New York-based plastic surgeon of world renown, has attracted a string of code violations since 2004.

The old Lowe’s building on Godwin Boulevard, owned by a Suffolk-born, New York-based plastic surgeon of world renown, has attracted a string of code violations since 2004.

It may be owned by a Suffolk native who’s built a reputation as a top plastic surgeon, but a list of code violations and related fines suggest the old Lowe’s property on Godwin Boulevard could do with more than just a facelift.

According to city records, since Sherrell J. Aston paid $1.3 million for the property in 2004, the city of Suffolk has issued 38 violation notices against 3061 Godwin Blvd.

City inspectors have cited a range of issues, including dilapidated fencing, deteriorated doors and roofing, unsecured structure and failure to remove trash and cut the grass.

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After the fencing was torn down, vandals scrawled graffiti on the structure, the records show.

The story of the languishing, rundown property is a far cry from that of its owner.

According to his 30-page resume posted online, after completing a plastic surgery residency at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center in the early to mid 1970s, Aston has forged an illustrious career remodeling physical appearances.

The past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgery is listed as an associate attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center, surgeon director and plastic surgery department chair at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, and professor of plastic surgery at New York University Medical Center.

Left with a receptionist at his Park Avenue office in Manhattan, messages seeking comment on his Suffolk property were not returned by Aston.

Suffolk District Court documents show the city has levied 19 civil fines of $100 each for code violations at 3061 Godwin Blvd.

After they were contested, all but three of the 19 fines were dismissed.

According to the city’s Planning and Community Development Department, the other 16 violations were dismissed “either after they were brought into code compliance or the court found the items not to be in violation.”

Lowe’s relocated from Godwin Boulevard to its present North Main Street location in 2001, company spokeswoman Natalie Turner confirmed.

After gradually becoming more and more rundown in appearance, the dilapidated property is widely regarded as blighting a corridor of otherwise productive and more visually appealing developments.

It’s listed for sale by real estate agent Lee Anne Shelton-Matthews, who also has not returned calls seeking comment.