Government

Seeking Less Costly Option, Town Council Rejects $550,000 Renovation Project at Vine Cottage

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Saying they need to understand the building’s long-term purpose first and whether it could be passably restored (and legally occupied) for less money, members of New Canaan’s legislative body on Wednesday night unanimously rejected a proposal to renovate Vine Cottage for $550,000. The Town Council voted 10-0 against the bond issuance during its regular meeting. Councilman Christa Kenin said that though she appreciates the work that Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC put into a more comprehensive plan for the ca. 1860-built gabled structure, “I was a little surprised to see it on the agenda as a request for a bond.”

“It is a sweet house that needs a lot of work,” Kenin said, yet she’s a member of a recently appointed committee that’s been charged with making recommendations about town-owned buildings “and this is one of buildings that is at the top of our list to evaluate.”

“And I think even approving—whether it’s $550,000 or to come back to $100,000 before it falls to the ground—makes the assumption that we are going to hold onto this building, which may or may not be the case six months from now when we study the 44-plus buildings that the town is responsible for,” she said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. Ultimately, the Town Council charged New Canaan’s buildings superintendent with figuring out what would be the least costly project at Vine Cottage to make it inhabitable—by the town’s Human Services Department, its current occupant—for the next several months, until the Town Building Evaluation and Use Committee comes forward with a recommendation on what to do.

Government

Neighbor Lodges Complaint About Dumpster Outside Historic Home on Park Street

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A neighbor’s complaint about a dumpster outside a prominent home in New Canaan’s historic district is prompting town officials to get assurances that the structure will only be there temporarily. The dumpster outside the garage of 63 Park St.—an 1863-built Greek Revival known to locals as the former home of Maxwell Perkins, the great Scribners editor of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, among others—has been in place for at least two weeks, according to Janet Lindstrom, acting chairman of the Historic District Commission. The complainant has claimed that it’s been there for four months, she said at a meeting of the commission on Thursday evening. “I don’t think we can do anything about it except to see if it stays a lot longer than it should,” Lindstrom said during the meeting, held at the (member-supported) New Canaan Historical Society. Lindstrom relayed that she has spoken to the owner of the home, which is on the market, and said they’re using the dumpster as needed as they move some items out.