LEBANON — Plans to tear down a historic boarding house and build new apartments on Bank Street were met this week with resistance from city officials and neighbors.

Many who attended a Planning Board meeting Monday said a proposal to build more than 40 new apartments in downtown Lebanon would result in the destruction of one of the neighborhood’s earliest structures.

Some also expressed concern that a four-story building slated for the same property would loom over nearby homes.

“I’m feeling that it’s really massive,” Planning Board member Joan Monroe said in an audio recording of the meeting.

Upper Valley landlord Jolin Kish plans to demolish 14 Bank St. and build a three-story apartment building with six units in its place. Behind that new building and 10 Bank St., which she also owns, Kish would construct a 36-unit structure of two-bedroom apartments and two floors of parking. The building would border properties on Green Street.

Mary Ann Mastro, who has lived on the street for more than 40 years, said the proposed changes are too much to bear.

“Over the years, a neighborhood does change,” she said. “But I am not asking for multiple apartments with maximum density with the maximum height for my neighborhood.”

Kish said Monday that both would be designed in a similar manner to the AVA Gallery and Art Center, which is across Bank Street from the proposed project, and other buildings of Shaker design.

“We’re trying to respect the streetscape and keep the smaller buildings toward the front and put the larger-scale building in back,” she said.

However, the plans saw pushback from historians and those worried about the razing of 14 Bank St., which was built in 1848. Colbee C. Benton, a Lebanon merchant and two-term selectman, lived there at the time.

“He’s a major figure in the history of the city, and I think just tearing it down is not reflective of the historical chapter of the master plan,” said Robert Welsch, chairman of Lebanon’s Heritage Commission. “I think you should be doing something to preserve that house.”

Kish also faced questions from Planning Board member Sarah Welsch, a former city councilor who is married to Robert. Given the building’s historic status, why wouldn’t Kish spend the money to renovate it instead, she wondered.

Kish explained that 14 Bank St. is “well past its prime” with structural challenges that could prevent a full interior renovation.

“It would be substantially more expensive to do it that way,” Kish said. “It’s not a financially feasible option.”

Former City Historian Carl Porter implored officials to treat Kish the same as other property owners who have had to tear down historic structures because of their condition.

“We have a landowner here telling us the state of the building,” he said. “She understands what it looks like. She understands what it costs to make it safe to live in and viable to be a long-term residence.”

Instead of forcing Kish to save the building, Porter said city officials should be asking for permission to document what is left before letting it go.

Carolyn Cole, an attorney who owns 18 Bank St., where her office is located, also warned the old boardinghouse is “in a very bad state of disrepair.” She said it had not been treated well over time by some of its tenants.

A full site plan review before the Planning Board would be required before the project could move forward.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vne   ws.com or 603-727-3223.

Correction

Hanover landlord Jolin Kish said plans to tear down a boarding house and replace it with two new apartment buildings on Bank Street in Lebanon would “respect the streetscape and keep the smaller buildings toward the front and put the larger-scale building in back.” Lebanon attorney Carolyn Cole owns a neighboring property at 18 Bank St. An earlier version of this story misquoted Kish and misstated which building Cole owns.