06880

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).