Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk’s office for the period Feb. 7-11, 2005:

Stephanie Y. Wilson to Stanley I. Stern, 90 North Ave., $1,174,000

Timothy Sperry and Michelle Spiridigliozzi to Steven and Theresa L. Lewis, 32 Tamarac Road, $1,295,000

Linda W. Finnie to Nancy Vorel, 3 Nassau Road, $972,000

Gustav W. and Linda Maikish to Gary Fullenbaum and Michelle Picker, 15 Side Hill Road, $1,056,500

Eleanor L. Reed Trust to Andrea Toth, 3 Norport Drive, $705,000

Steven and Theresa L. Lewis to Maria Dipasquale, 111 Regents Park, $757,977

Patagonia, a designer of outdoor clothing and gear, will open a Westport branch in the former Westport Bank & Trust Co. (more recently Hudson United Bank) bank building in Westport’s center.
Flashback:Developer David Waldman in front of the landmark building last November. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Developer David Waldman said Ventura, Calif., based-Patagonia Inc. has signed a 10-year lease for 7,784 square feet of space in the building, a landmark in Westport’s center for 80 years.

Waldman bought the building last November for $4.2 million and said he intended to turn it into a retail store, restaurant, and offices but maintain its historic faade and lobby murals. (See WestportNow Nov. 16, 2004)

He said Patagonia, which he described as a “very environmentally-conscious” company, would not only display the murals and keep the faade but also intended to keep the old bank vault doors.

They might not be able to save a 200-year-old house on the Westport-Fairfield line, but those battling to keep the Abel Bradley House away from the wreckers will be able to see their efforts preserved on film.
Abel Bradley House 1934 view: preservation efforts to be preserved on film. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Fairfield County Preservation Trust photo

The controversy over the fate of the circa 1800 house on Sturges Highway has attracted the attention of an independent, New York-based filmmaker, according to neighbor Eleanor Dickey, who is leading the fight to save it. (See WestportNow Feb. 5, 2005)

She said Suzi Yoonessi, a graduate film student at Columbia University, where Dickey teaches classics, is directing a documentary about the issue and the people involved.

Yoonessi was attracted to the subject by the human interest dimension of the controversy, particularly the life of Ruby Brotherton, the elderly widow who lived in the house until a few months ago, Dickey said.

Playtex Products Inc. has decided to keep its corporate headquarters in Westport while reducing its worldwide workforce by 20 percent and its corporate headquarters space at the Nyala Farms Corporate Center by about 16 percent, GlobeSt.com reported today.

The real estate news site said the personal care and consumer products manufacturing firm signed a six-year lease renewal for its 59,000 sf offices at the Nyala complex between Greens Farms Road and I-95,

GlobeSt.com, quoting officials of the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, said Playtex, which first took occupancy at Nyala Farms 11 years ago, had leased 75,000 sf of space there prior to the lease renewal transaction.

Paul H. Kauffman, executive director, Stephen Baker, senior director, and Gregory V. Frisoli, director of Cushman & Wakefield, serve as exclusive leasing agent to building ownership, Nyala Farms Corp., in the marketing of approximately 80,000 sf of available space in the 372,207-sf, five-building office complex. Jim Randel of Rand Real Estate represented Playtex.

Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk’s office for the period Jan. 31-Feb. 4, 2005:

Lawrence B. and Naomi Cohen to Ernest Frank Ferrari Revocable Trust and Virginia Jean Revocable Trust, Unit 21 Whitney Glen, $465,500

Helen Szondy to Donna E. Haupt, 64 Long Lots Road, $915,000

John S. Coleburn Irrevocable Trust to Lawrence P. Weisman Trustee, 44 and 45 Compo Mill Cove, $3,625,000

Ellen D Miller to Saxony LLC, Unit 142 Lansdowne, $755,000

Joseph Oppedisano to Marilyn J. Gula, 15 Guyer Road, $635,000

The 200-year-old Abel Bradley House on Sturges Highway on the Westport-Fairfield line may be saved after all.
131 Sturges Highway: national historic listing closer and sale negotiations have begun with developers. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Neighbors fighting to save the historic house announced that they have received support from the state that could lead to accelerated listing of the property on the National Register of Historic Places, giving it some protection.

They also said that they have entered into negotiations with the developers of the property for possible purchase. The house had been scheduled for demolition March 3, the group said.

Eleanor Dickey, a Fairfield resident and neighbor who has led the fight to save the house, said Connecticut’s State Historic Preservation Office voted to accept the building for study for the national listing.

Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk’s office for the period Jan. 24-28, 2005:

Lloyd Lyman Mahone Trust to Rina K. Pianko, 270 Hillspoint Road, $2,950,000

Joseph R. and Melissa R. Signorile to Leigh Overland, 173 Roseville Road, $746,000

John J. Giunta Sr. Revocable Trust to Robert J. and Lou Ann Giunta, 283A Saugatuck Ave., $1,500,000

Mary H. Singer to Mohonk Education and Neuropsychological Foundation, 66 Weston Road, $500,000

Floyd B. Conlin Jr. and Mary E. Conlin to Michael and Christine Carey, 7 Windrush Lane, $1,795,000

Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk’s office for the period Jan. 17-21, 2005:

Westport Auto Sales to C. Lawrence Tirreno, 1350 Post Road East, $1,400,000

C. Lawrence Tirreno to Westport Auto Sales, 19-25 Mills St., $1,400,000

David C. Larson to Shawn B. Liprie, 24 St. John Place, $781,000

Brendan M. and Jeanne L. Lesch to Craig A. and Allison C. Wiele, 114 Imperial Ave., $1,199,000

Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk’s office for the period Jan. 10-14, 2005:

Irene Zoschnick to Thomas W. and Kim M. Constantino Jr., 8 Loren Lane, $495,000

Ford R. and Carolyn M. Lynch to Russell Dale Campbell, 2 Aspetuck Lane, $935,000

Richard J. and Diana R. Carter Jr., to Luigi Casatelli, 29 Easton Road, $1,120,000
Peter K. and Lynda Aitkin to Brian and January Cliento, 148 Bayberry Lane, $1,005,000

Sybil G. Gruner and Estate of Saul G. Gruner, Unit 227 Lansdowne, $900,000