By By Ruthanne Tarantino, News Correspondent

While the Fenway community is showing support for the seven Peterborough Street businesses that burned down in January, there does not seem to be a clear timeline for the renovations.
Community members, city representatives and business owners came together Monday night at the bar Church on Kilmarnock Street. Those in attendance were eager to hear an update of the progress of the Peterborough Street business block, after it was destroyed in a four-alarm fire Jan. 6. The seven local businesses severely damaged were El Pelon Taqueria, Thornton’s Fenway Grill, Greek Isles Restaurant, Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine II, Umi Japanese Restaurant, Sorento’s Italian Gourmet and Bon Cleaners.
‘[It’s a] slow process, but wheels are turning,’ said John Lynch, an operations specialist from the Department of Neighborhood Development.
He said the property was built in the 1920s and are not up to building code because they were grandfathered in, meaning they could stay as-is until elected renovations.
At the meeting, attendees pressed for a more specific time period of when they could expect their neighborhood to return back to normal, though no one was able to give a straight answer. Lynch said there are still layers of red tape to get through, like the insurance company and the city still investigating the site and city permits before construction can begin.
Although the community came together for the night, they were divided on some issues, including how to rebuild the property. One proposition was to add more stories to the structure for apartments or condominiums. Some community members said more residents would benefit the neighborhood while others opposed this plan, saying tall buildings would make the neighborhood more windy, making it harder for residents to walk.
The fire left 71 people unemployed, but at least some are taken care of.
Richard Thornton, the brother of Marty and Bud Thornton, owners of Thornton’s Fenway Grill, said some of restaurant’s employees had priority at the House of Blues job fair when the Lansdowne Street club recently opened.
Monty Gold, the owner of the property, said he is not interested in selling his burned-down buildings unless someone was willing to overpay him. He said he is still working with his insurance company, the city and possible architects to rebuild the property.
‘[Ideally, we would] have the money, the plans to build it and put exactly what it was before,’ he said.