Sunday, October 18, 2026

WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 35 Church Lane

An application for a permit to demolish the house at Westport’s 35 Church Lane, next to the Westport Weston Family Y, and the adjacent medical structure is in process. Known as the Gunn House, built in 1890, the three-story residential property which has been most recently used for law offices, has 3,219 square feet and is situated on a .46-acre property. The adjacent medical use building which has an entrance on Elm Street has 1,745 square feet. Developer David Waldman has offered to pay to move the structure to the nearby town-owned Baldwin parking lot. The offer is under consideration by the town. Because the Gunn House house was built more than 50 years ago, the application will be reviewed by the Westport Historic District Commission, which can delay demolition for as long as 180 days. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

4 thoughts on “WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 35 Church Lane”

Matthew Mandell says:
Monday, April 15, 2013 at 8:51 am
An RFP is in it final stages and will hopefully be put out for bid this week. The Town is looking for a developer or group who will restore the house, once its moved, and be able to rent out the space for retail, office or even housing.
This is a great opportunity for a developer to be part of Westport’s Downtown at a good price. Instead of having to buy a piece of property, they get to own the house for what it would cost to restore it within its historic parameters. They would then also pay a land lease since the town will still own the land. This is a good deal for them and for the Town.
The town gets this center piece of historic downtown to remain intact and futher recreates the streetscape that once existed on Elm where it was once all residential houses, but now a parking lot. It will only take up a fraction of the lot and there is no net loss of parking since the new project has an excess.
If anyone wants to know more or be involved in trying to preserve this house they can contact me at matthew@savewestport.com
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Albert S. Beasley, M.D. says:
Monday, April 15, 2013 at 10:52 am
If the house is to be moved to another location, why is there an application for a permit to demolish it?
A. Beasley, M.D.
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Margaret Feczko says:
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 11:14 am
Because, Dr. Beasley, the town has not officially accepted and approved the offer from David Walman. I am very hopeful that moving this house will soon be a real plan but it needs a developer willing to take the risk. By pulling a demolition permit, David Waldman’s group is forcing the issue, as they should. They have generously offerd to move this historic structure at their expense! The demolition will go to the HDC who are on record for supporting moving the Gunn House. They can delay the demolition for six months which will be time to get town approval. The public will have many opportunities to speak up…HDC, Board of Finance, RTM, P & Z, possibly ZBA.
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Matthew Mandell says:
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 11:48 am
In other words Al, if we fail, the house will be demolished.
So everyone, if you want to save this house, and preserve a piece of Westport Downtown history, let every developer you know know about this opportunity.
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