News

Hoyt Street Colonial Sells for $1,162,500

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The following property transfers were recorded recently in the Town Clerk’s office. For more information about each property from the assessor, click on the street address. To get the history of a New Canaan street name, click here. ***

July 16

131 Thayer Pond Road

$2,675,000
U.S. Bank National Association, trustee, to 131 Thayer Pond Road LLC

July 15

63 Hoyt St. $1,162,500
63 Hoyt Street LLC to Mary Lou Rothfuss

July 11

33 Toquam Road

$1,545,000
Linda Hickey to Predrag Ivaneza

73 Talmadge Hill Road

$1,050,000
Kathleen Dinnie to Moises & Iryna Rosales

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The New Canaan Building Department on Tuesday received an application to renovate about 1,000 square feet inside the prominent Greek Revival-style home at 63 Park St. that once was owned by Maxwell Perkins, the great Scribners editor of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and (the original) Tom Wolfe. Plans refer to an “exhibit space,” “reception” area, “photo darkroom.” The estimated $50,000 job will involve adding a catering kitchen and half-bath, according to the application. The architect on the job is Williams Earls AIA, the application said. The property had been purchased for $2,475,000 in November by a limited liability company whose principal is listed in state records as David Peterson.

Government

Moynihan: If Covia Building Is Not Buyable, Renovate Police HQ To Move In Board of Ed

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New Canaan’s highest elected official said Thursday that if a downtown building he’d been eyeing as a possible future home for police and school district administrators is no longer available, as rumored, then the town should move forward with plans to renovate the police headquarters on South Avenue and move the Board of Education in there. Asked whether the Covia building at Elm and Grove Streets was under contract, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during a media briefing, “That’s my understanding.” Covia could not be reached for comment. 

Asked what the town would do if Covia is off the table, Moynihan said, “The thought now for South Avenue would be to knock down the rear of the building and build a whole new addition at the rear, with three floors, so the Board of Education would have all the space they need on the top floor.”

The town pays about $300,000 in annual rent for the New Canaan Public Schools’ administrative headquarters at the corner of Forest Street and Locust Avenue. A town committee in December 2017 recommended that Waveny or Irwin should be considered as alternatives. Moynihan initially said the Board of Ed should move into unused space at the Police Department, then targeted the Covia (formerly ‘Unimin’) building at 258 Elm St. as a possibility.

Government

Police Commission Turns Down Request for Road Closure for Proposed Street Fair on Forest

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Saying it could set a bad precedent, town officials this week declined to approve a request to close Forest Street on a Sunday next month for a street fair with live music, games and activities such as face-painting. Though proposed with good intentions, as a way to bring the community together and showcase an area that’s not always featured in other downtown events, the street fair is not insured, has no sponsoring organization and isn’t designed to raise funds for a charitable cause, members of the Police Commission said. “To be honest, I do not like the precedent of closing a street for private use,” Commission Chairman Sperry DeCew said during Wednesday night’s regular meeting, held at the New Canaan Police Department. “There is no overriding Chamber of Commerce approval or anything else. This is really to close a street so we can enhance business, and I think that is a dangerous precedent.”

DeCew and Commissioners Paul Foley and Jim McLaughlin voted 3-0 to table the item to a future meeting.

Board of Education

Podcast: Board of Ed Member and Town Council Candidate Maria Naughton

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free weekly podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Maria Naughton, a Board of Education member seeking election to New Canaan’s local legislative body, the Town Council. Following Tuesday night’s caucuses, Naughton and her fellow Republican nominees—Steve Karl, Mike Mauro and Cristina A. Ross—are entering a contested race versus Democratic nominees Robin Bates-Mason, Colm Dobbyn and Mark Grzymski. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, a favorite family dessert destination for New Canaanites. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0: