WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 39 Coleytown Road

11 thoughts on “WestportNow Teardown of the Day: 39 Coleytown Road”

1. What can we do to preserve our ever dwindling historic dwellings that add so much to the character of Westport?  Once the are gone, they can never be replaced.

   A. Beasley, M.D.

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2. 219 years old.
   This one sure is a disappointment.
   HDC:  Is there any way you can flex your muscles on this one?
   One can hope.

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3. What a shame!  I’ve always loved that house.  One can hope the HDC will flex its muscles, but I’ve rarely seen it do so.  (Why is that?)

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4. Same situation repeated many times over, same comments and questions.  The HDC can rarely, if ever stop a teardown, only make recommendations for an addition as opposed to stopping the process of tearing down.  There are no tax incentives or other inducements to own and care for an older home other than the feelings of the owners about the property and its relationship to the community.  Sadly, those feelings are mostly overcome by financial considerations.

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5. We should be lovingly restoring beautiful old homes like this to keep the wonderful character of Westport alive
   instead of tearing them down.  I agree with Mary Ruggiero that there should be some tax incentive for those who purchase these beautiful historical old homes to assist with the restoration of the inner beauty and character of my home town.

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6. I’m writing from ugly Southern California, where the sprawl blights the landscape and anything built before the new millennium is considered old. I dream of beautiful Westport with it’s historic homes and sense of continuity, if I were back home I’d drive around town with a megaphone, singing Joni Mitchell’s “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.”

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7. The HDC can only prevent demolition if a property is a Local Historic Property or if it is part of a Local Historic District.  While this house is on the Historic Resources Inventory, it does not necessarily mean that it is a Local Historic Property.  For this reason, simply asking the HDC to “flex their muscles” isn’t enough unless a property owner or a group of property owners designate their homes.

   My home is a contributing resource in the Gorham Avenue Historic District.  We got together with our neighbors a number of years ago and decided that we wanted to save the architectural integrity of our neighborhood.  After careful consideration, we decided to apply for Local Historic District status.  Now that we have achieved that, any home in our district that comes up for demolition has to be reviewed by the HDC.  So far, the HDC has stopped the wrecking ball from destroying two homes on Gorham Avenue.  What I am trying to say is that the HDC has tremendous muscles if a homeowner or a group of homeowners allows.

   Contrary to popular opinion, there is an incentive provided to people who designate their properties.  It is fairly new but it is being used to great advantage.  It is called 32-18 and it allows owners of historic properties to convert existing outbuildings to livable space.  For example, one of my neighbors is turning their garage into a guest cottage.  Before being part of a Local Historic District this would not have been permitted. 

   In regard to the HDC, Westporters should be very thankful.  I have been to HDC hearings in Fairfield and in Bridgeport and we are truly blessed to have the group that we do.  They are very concerned with the preservation of Westport but they can’t just go around issuing preservation “edicts.”  If we want them to help us, we have to help them by offering our buildings and neighborhoods for local historic designation.

   As a private citizen of Westport who is concerned with the disappearance of our historic architecture, I would be delighted to talk to anyone who is interested in preserving their home or neighborhood.  We were instrumental in creating the Gorham Avenue Historic District and we have appeared before the HDC on numerous occasions to get approval for work on our house so we have experienced the process in myriad ways.  Please, please, please let me know if anyone is interested.  I would love to help.

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8. I’ve enjoyed all these comments.  Very helpful information, Grayson.  Thank you!

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9. Grayson Braun’s comments and observations here are correct – and their clarity is valuable as well.

   It is very sad to witness what has now been happening for some years relating to destruction of old and historically relevant buildings and homes in Westport.  Yes – it is indeed financially driven, by developers whose business is to make a profit, by homeowners who cannot afford restoration or the cost of upkeep of older structures with old more maintenance-requiring construction, and of course with little or no protection from the HDC or Historical Society because of P & Z rules that prevent effective intervention.  Salvation is only rarely achieved, and that as a result of dedicated small groups of people who come together and embarrass or dissuade the would-be destroyer/developer – and that is hard to achieve.

   There may indeed by ways whereby more progress can be achieved,  and I hope sincerely that investigation of ideas can be developed and pressed.  I believe there are many who would like to help this cause – and they should be encouraged, before it’s too late.

   Gavin Anderson.

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10. 277 North is being marketed at an asking price of $6.2 MM. It has 7.34 acres of land and 6,442 square feet of living area according to the field card provided through VisionAppraisal (Westport’s vendor for these services and many other towns).
    Here is the listing info:
    http://tinyurl.com/277-North-Ave
    There is no indication or any potential or actual subdivision possibilities.
    (Shameless plug alert) I would be happy to arrange a viewing should anyone having an interest in purchasing the property. There has been a repositioning of the price since it was first listed. I would be happy to offer more details off-line.

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11. Dear David,

    Not that there is anything wrong our of Realtor.com (I use the Featured Home marketing), but I am unable find anything within that range on North Avenue or Coleytown. Realtor gets pushed info from our MLS. I am accessing that MLS directly. I have used multiple search criteria in an effort to find what you are referring to (I always enjoy a challenge, especially if it involves real estate). 🙂

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