Government

‘A Terrible Loss for Our Town’: Formal Letter Filed Opposing Demo of Historic Home

By |

Town officials on Wednesday received a letter objecting to the planned demolition of a historic home at 8 Ferris Hill Road, triggering a public hearing later this month on the divisive proposal. Asked for his thoughts following the formal objection, property owner Max Abel said in an email to NewCanaante.com: “I suggest all those who oppose the demolition to put their money where their mouth is and purchase this property.”

Abel has said he now regrets buying the 2.14-acre property and 1735-built home that sits on it, as he believed at the time of the purchase in November 2013 that his neighbors would want the house preserved while he developed the property. Abel went through multiple public hearings in the weeks and months that followed his acquisition of the property at 8 Ferris Hill Road (listed as 441 Canoe Hill Road in the assessor’s database) in an effort to find a way he could build a new house on the lot while preserving the original. Though neighbors objected to the building plans for the property, Abel rented out the home and continued to work with preservationists eager to save the antique. Two weeks ago, Abel filed an application to demolish the 2,378-square-foot home, triggering a flurry of activity from those preservationists, who formed a group of experts dedicated to it and put forward ideas about developing the property in a way that includes the house, launched a Facebook campaign to “Save 8 Ferris Hill” and held multiple meetings on the matter.

News

‘One of the Last Remaining Artifacts of New Canaan’: Preservationists Explore Ways To Save Historic Ferris Hill Road Home

By |

Mobilized by the very real possibility that a historic Ferris Hill Road home will be razed, local preservationists and other experts are working with its owner and touting the 2.14-acre property’s potential for types of development that would still save the antique structure. A demolition sign went up Wednesday at 8 Ferris Hill Road (listed as 441 Canoe Hill Road in the assessor’s database), one week after its owner applied for a permit to raze the 1735-built home. Now is a critical time for preservation advocates, before a 15-day window to object to the demolition runs out and a decision likely is left with a municipal committee. Though the home’s owner could not be reached for comment, he has said that demolition appears to be the only possible way to develop the property he now regrets purchasing more than two years ago. Yet one local expert, Robert Dean of New Canaan-based Robert Dean Architects, a firm that’s been practicing here for 30 years, said there are three basic ways that emerged when it comes to preserving an antique structure such as this in the face of development: Move it, sustain it in place and build around it, or sustain it in place and add onto it (more on those options below).

Government

‘We Hope That There May Still Be a Happy Resolution’: Application To Demolish Filed for Historic New Canaan Home

By |

Town officials on Wednesday received an application to demolish a Ferris Hill Road home that experts call one of New Canaan’s most historic structures—a development that follows years-long and wide-ranging efforts by its owner and preservationists to save it. The wood-shingled, 1735-built antique home at 8 Ferris Hill Road (or 441 Canoe Hill Road, according to the assessor, same property) sits in the southwestern corner of a 2.14-acre lot, up against the roadway, as is typical of the era. Town resident and builder Max Abel acquired the property in November 2013 for $1,250,000 with the thought of building a second home on the lot. It’s a purchase he said that he now regrets “because I held this naïveté that any plan that I would come up with that would include preserving the old house would be very welcome by all the people of the town, including all the neighbors.”

“And I didn’t see a possibility of anybody objecting to a plan—I could see more demands on how to make a [proposed new] house look more similar [to the antique], or have a garden between [the old and proposed new] houses to connect them, but never envisioned an objection by neighbors.”

The month after he purchased the property, Abel filed an application with the Planning & Zoning Commission for a special permit that would allow the antique home to remain as an accessory structure so that he could build a new house on the property (the combined square footage would go over coverage). Though Abel worked with preservationists and made some concessions in his development plan, several neighbors objected to its specifics, citing safety and aesthetic concerns, and in some cases requesting that P&Z impose requirements regarding the preservation of the antique (thought to have housed Connecticut’s last slave—more on that below), according to P&Z meeting minutes from January and February 2014.

Government

Neighbor Lodges Complaint About Dumpster Outside Historic Home on Park Street

By |

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.

News

Though Under Contract, Vacant Historic Home on God’s Acre Remains Tied Up In Foreclosure Proceedings

By |

Though progress appears to have been made in the sale of a prominent, deteriorating antique home on God’s Acre—a development long sought by historic preservationists—the property remains vacant and tied up in foreclosure proceedings that have stalled its transfer. The 1780-built Greek Revival-style home at 4 Main St. is being foreclosed upon, through a civil lawsuit filed by the bank that’s been tied up in court for more than three years. In 2013, a local couple, whose detailed plans for restoring the 10-room, 7,000-square-foot home had been looked on favorably by the Historic District Commission, made an offer on the .43-acre property that they said last March had been accepted by the bank. Two months later, officials reported that the home’s owner, Dr. James Talbot had rejected that offer.