A lot has happened since 2019.
President Trump left office, seethed during the 4-year presidency of Joe Biden, and is now back in the White House.
The world went from never having heard of a “coronavirus,” to shutting down for months, to getting vaccinated, to hearing that vaccines are not really needed anymore — and now, pretty much forgetting that COVID ever existed.
Queen Elizabeth died. Pope Francis died. Taylor Swift took over the planet.
In all that time though, the “blue house” at 233 Hillspoint Road remains unfinished.
233 Hillspoint Road (outlined).
It will be for the foreseeable future, too.
The property is now in foreclosure.
An auction date of September 3 has been set for the land and building. It is marketed by Northgate Real Estate Group as a “single family home, mid-construction,” on a “rare beachfront property featuring 2 stories with an elevator.”
The 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom home sits on a 5,663-square foot Old Mill Beach lot, a “5 minute drive from the Compo Beach Yacht Club and Marina.”
Current status of 233 Hillspoint Road.
The saga began in 2015, when Positano restaurant — the successor to the popular Café de la Plage — closed.
(Positano subsequently reopened next to the Westport Country Playhouse. After several years, it was replaced by Gabriele’s. That’s not part of the story, but it does illustrate in another way how much time has passed.)
The restaurant building was demolished in 2018.
On July 24, 2019 — almost exactly 6 years ago — “06880” reported that a new 4,200-square foot home would replace it. The asking price would be $7.5 million.
Artists’ rendering of the house going up at 233 Hillspoint Road (July 24, 2019 “06880”).
Construction began.
And then … crickets.
For months — as COVID came and went — the house sat behind a construction fence, half-finished.
Wrapped in blue Tyvek, and swaddled in litgation, it spent years as a large headache for neighbors, and eyesore for all.
Finally — more than a year ago, on February 18, 2024 — “06880” posted good news.
The property had a new owner. He introduced himself to the town, via our blog:
My name is James Pendry.
I have lived in Westport since the late 1980s. I sent my children to Staples High School.
I was a member of Westport Rotary for years, and have lived in an antique home on the Mill Pond for over 2 decades.
I have logged many hours sipping coffee outside Elvira’s, and many summer days reading at Old Mill Beach. I’d like to think I know the neighborhood.
I know there have been many rumors, many fingers pointed, much outrage and vituperative attacks on everyone from the seller, Planning & Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and Building Department.
Virtually everything I’ve heard is the worst form of gossip: false and mean.
A photo that ran with James Pendry’s story.
Unfortunately, and I guess to disappoint many of you, there is no villain here. There is only a profound lack of communication, the lost years of COVID, and the ill-effects of “silo-ing.”
At each turn in this drama, every actor was doing the logical and right thing from their specific and singular point of view. Omniscience was required — someone or some authority to look at the big picture, and forge a workable compromise.
That entity does not exist in the land use departments of the town of Westport — or in the halls of Congress of the United States. The result is the same: missed opportunities, little productive debate, and either no outcome or a bad outcome.
In the last week we have cleaned up the site, moved the security fence so as not to impede pedestrian traffic, and replaced all the blue skin on the exterior of the building.
233 Hillspoint Road in February 2024.
The neighbors, who had sued the previous owner, were gracious enough to meet with me and keep an open mind to some changes. Ultimately, we were able to reach a compromise that each of the plaintiffs and I can abide by.
Construction will start in earnest, as soon as the ZBA signs off on the compromise reached.
I am hopeful that that can happen at their next meeting.
Hope springs eternal.
But as Vince Lombardi may have said, “hope is not a strategy.”
The ZBA did sign off.
Construction did resume.
And then — like a Metro-North train offering false hope when it starts chugging along after stopping randomly on the tracks — it halted again.
Now we know why.
The financing is not there.
The foreclosure notice described the property as “mid-construction.”
Let’s hope that “mid” does not literally mean “in the middle.”
Because if it’s only halfway done, that means it won’t be finished until 2031.
(“06880” reached out to James Pendry for comment. As of last night, he had not replied.)
Another recent view of 233 Hillspoint Road (foreground).
This presents a fantastic opportunity for the town to acquire the property, organize a soft demolition and sale of materials to contractors and builders, tear it down, and create open space that will enhance the existing open area.
Andrew’s idea is a good one! That said, EVERYONE involved in this debacle should be ashamed of themselves. Bureaucracy and incompetence strikes once again. Embarrassing!
Absolutely not.
If the Town has $5M of tax payer funds burning a hole in its pocket, it should be spent building affordable housing to ease the 8-30g burden that effects all residents, not something that improves the views for a wealthy few.
I think someone should buy it and turn it into a restaurant.
The town has a separate fund for development of affordable housing.
https://www.westportct.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/87640/638436844808370000
The RTM passed it last year. The purchase of this land at auction would be monumental, in that there would be more open space created for public use.
It’s not a win for the wealthy few, or their views, but for all residents and visitors.
Town could purchase it, managed and overseen by Parks and Recreation.
Postage stamp property for a resident, or enlarging a public park?
Town should buy it and turn it into affordable housing. Or maybe workforce housing for employees of OMG. With all the appropriate deed restrictions.
Andrew is right this is a rare opportunity to make an open space shared by everyone
Enough with covering every single inch of land with houses 8-30g ect
Yes. The town should buy it and make affordable housing, at about, lets say $12,000 a month?
I suggested that the town buy this property years ago. Plant some grasses, put in a couple of benches and call it a day.
Many years ago, I, with some support, sought to get the Town involved in acquiring the site, taking advantage of then relevant legal issues, using charitable donations and tax deductions. Jim Marpe ignored the effort and, as to Jen Tooker, don’t even go there. As to a restaurant, that has been legally abandoned by the prior owner, Gibby Cohen. No one knows why, though several residents worked hard to revive a restaurant when that was still legally possible. The 233 Hillspoint Rd. story is a tale of mistakes, inaction and, mostly, the lack of vision. Right now the house should also be subject to a second blight action. If we had Town leadership and a willingness to spend some money for items other than our school buildings, this monster could be acquired, torn down and donated to the Aspetuck Land Trust. Sadly, we have no leaders in Town who are willing to pursue difficult outcomes. All of the candidates for First Selectman should weigh in. Money could be raised from neighbors. About five years ago, I obtained commitments for about $40,000 with only a minimal effort and without seeking funds from several of the deep pocket residents. I have given up. Others should not.
From what I remember, when Positano was there, they wanted to add a small patio. One of the neighbors raised a ruckus, so they ultimately left, sadly. Sound familiar?
As I recall, those neighbors were legally correct. Hmmm.
Some of the same people trying to kill OMG. Don’t reward their efforts by spending tax dollars to improve their views, make them buy it and tear it down.
There’s at least one property in Saugatuck Shores owned by a handful of families who use it as their private club. Wouldn’t surprise me if this becomes some combination of that and an AirBnb.
https://06880danwoog.com/2016/03/25/new-update-on-old-positano/amp/
Positano was wonderful. So was Cafe de la Plage. Positano just wanted a patio for outdoor eating. The still half baked blue house remains an overgrown eyesore. Is there any realistic chance at all of that property becoming something wonderful?
These are strange and wacky times. A Democrat is running as a Republican for 1st Selectman. And a Republican is proposing the town buy a 0.13 acre lot at what would probably be a State per acre record price. So much for fiscal conservatism. Awesome grandstanding. Anything can happen. What can we expect next?
Purchase Price Cost per Acre
$1,000,000 $7,692,307.69
$2,000,000 $15,384,615.38
$3,000,000 $23,076,923.08
$4,000,000 $30,769,230.77
$5,000,000 $38,461,538.46
$6,000,000 $46,153,846.15
$8,000,000 $61,538,461.54
God, another house that looks like every other house built in five years that costs a million bucks and will fall apart in a decade.
Obviously the project bridged the COVID period. No one seems to be citing any horrible things that happened, other than delays, which even without going through a fiasco period like COVID – delays happen in construction. If the person needs to sell it, let them sell it and the next owner can finish it. It does not help to have local media such as this – magnifying the issues with the goal of creating a controversy, just because that’s what media people do.
the media is covering a pertinent news story in our town. Blaming the news is undemocratic. Attacking the news is a political tactic
I wonder if Positano would still be there is they were allowed to have a small patio with outside dining? I hope the same fate does not happen to OMG aka Elvira’s. Be careful what you wish (sue) for.
I could also see ROAN buy it and include it as part of The Hamlet lodging alternatives. They already have two islands, how cool would it be to add in a luxury beachfront rental.