Board of Selectmen

Town: Irwin House Demolition on Track for Late-August/September

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Irwin House is expected to be demolished in late-August or September, officials said last week. Located in the Weed Street park of the same name, the brick Irwin House was built between 1961 and 1963 after the original 1920’s shingle-style house—once owned by IBM founder Thomas Watson, Sr.—burned down in a fire. Noting that the structure needs an estimated $1.3 million in exterior work alone, town officials publicly discussed the prospect of demolishing Irwin House during this year’s budget process. The Board of Selectmen in April approved a $58,000 contract with an environmental services firm to find out what hazardous materials are inside Irwin House, and advise on how best to get rid of them so the full demo can go forward. 

During the July 8 Board of Selectmen meeting, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said that the town “got the initial environmental assessment back” and that DPW is “still working on the specifications.”

“And once that comes in, then we’ll get a good feel as to our number for environmental,” Mann told the selectmen during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Then we’ll go out to bid and look to get the people that are there currently out and housed where they need and take the building down some time in late-August-September-ish.”

Specifically, work must be done at Irwin Barn, he said (a separate structure that is not under threat of demolition). 

“We’ve already done some work at Irwin Barn as far as the waste and water lines, to be able to then relocate Butch, our maintenance man, from the garage to the Irwin Barn and give him a palace where he can wash his hands and go to the bathroom,” Mann said.

Business

Proposed Hotel Property Sells for $8.7 Million

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The downtown property where a 40-room hotel has been proposed sold this month for $8.7 million, according to a property transfer recorded July 2 in the Town Clerk’s office. Already identified as the “contractor purchaser” of 39 and 49-51 Locust Ave., the new ownership company—called Two Corners LLC—is headed by New Canaan resident Elliott Siderides. He’s the founder and president of New Canaan-based Windward Development, Inc., which is behind the hotel proposal. In appearing before the Planning & Zoning Commission in May founder and president of New Canaan-based Windward Development, Inc. alongside his two sons—John Siderides, Windward’s in-house architect, and Andrew Siderides, Windward’s head of development and construction management—Elliott Siderides detailed the proposed adaptive reuse of brick-exterior commercial buildings on Locust, including one that formerly housed the Board of Education and, temporarily, the New Canaan Police Department. During the hearing, he said that the extended-stay portion of the hotel is designed to serve “people who are visiting their elders at Waveny for a week…people who want their own place, coming back to visit their kids for a month… business owners who may come into town for a week because of remote capabilities,” he said. 

“The typical room has two bedrooms with a kitchen and a living room and/or flex rooms that can create a more expanded living situation,” Siderides told P&Z at the hearing.

News

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at 11:11 p.m. on June 28 received a report of a car (unlocked, keys inside) stolen from the Roger Sherman Inn. It was recovered by the New York City Police Department. ***

The Summer Theatre of New Canaan’s production of “The Little Mermaid” opens this weekend at the New Canaan High School auditorium. Tickets here. ***

Firefighters responded to Rosie on Elm Street last Thursday following an electrical fire with the wiring to the exhaust fan for the restaurant’s cooking exhaust system, officials say.

News

New Construction Planned for Forest Street

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The New Canaan Building Department has received an application for a 3,500-square-foot house on Forest Street. The 2.5-story, four-bedroom home at 132 Forest St. will include four full bathrooms, one half-bath, a fireplace and two-bay garage, according to the building permit application filed June 6. The house will have a finished attic and partially finished basement. 

It will cost about $667,500 to build, the application said. The contractor on the job is CT Real Estate Ventures LLC, the architect AWA Design Group, both of Stamford.

News

DUI Charge for 20-Year-Old Man

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Police just after midnight on June 14 arrested 20-year-old Fairfield man and charged him with driving while under 21 with a blood-alcohol level of more than .02, a misdemeanor offense. At about 11:50 p.m. on June 13 (a Friday), an officer at Main and Elm Streets saw a vehicle exit the Morse Court Lot and drive under the posted speed limit on South Avenue, according to a police report. The officer followed the car onto Maple Street, where it failed to make a complete stop at Park Street, the report said. The officer stopped the vehicle at South Avenue and Mead Street, and smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath, it said. After conducting field sobriety tests, the man was arrested and also cited for failure to drive right. 

At headquarters, the driver provided two breath samples, testing at .1157 and .1115—both over the legal limit for all motorists. 

He was released on $300 bond and scheduled to appear June 27 in state Superior Court. 

The case has been statutorily sealed, Connecticut Judicial Branch records show.