As director of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, Matthew Mandell hears a lot.
He sends regular updates to an email list, from a SaveWestport.com address.
The one that landed in inboxes less than an hour ago is quite interesting. Matthew writes:
I was informed this week that an 8-30g will be coming to 55 Greens Farms Road. (NOTE: That’s the office building next to Assumption Cemetery, opposite I-95 and near Hillspoint Road.)
55 Greens Farms Road
Our old 8-30g lawyer Tim Hollister (Hiawatha) is bringing us another one. Of the 2 buildings at the office park, the front one will become a 70-foot, 250-unit apartment building (175 market, 75 affordable).
The other will remain for office use, at least for now. The Planning & Zoning Commission rezoned this area for medical use, which made a lot of sense, but this is what is coming anyway.
Aerial view of 55 Greens Farms Road. The apartments would be in the front. The rear building would remain offices.
55 is the one closest to the road, and the new apartment building will be much closer to the road. While the folks in the cemetery to the east probably won’t mind much, it’s the poor folks on Gonczy, Lakeview and Medwell who will get this full impact.
This is besides the increase in use of the roads for that area, and the sheer size of it being out of character. And the state Department of Transportation still would like 18-wheelers to come across the Cribari Bridge and be on this road.
Technically the application has not been filed with P&Z. Hollister is coming before the Conservation Commission to do a wetland modification based on new reports. CC pretty much would have to follow the expert analysis, but they don’t have to, nor do they need to do anything quickly.
Once the application arrives formally then we look for cracks in the application, knowing Hollister it will be pretty clean.
This is coming folks. We have not had an 8-30g since we lost the moratorium 2+ years ago. Once Lincoln Street and Hiawatha Lane come on line we will get another moratorium, but until then we are still vulnerable.
(This is a developing story. “06880” will update it, as more information becomes available.)
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, one crucial casualty looms: agriculture.
Continued fighting severely curtailed planting this spring. The fear was felt everywhere, from large commercial farmers to individuals whose home gardens provide increasingly scarce food.
In Lyman, those worries are over.
Thanks to Westporters’ donations, 2,000 residents of our sister city have received seeds. They were delivered by Ukraine Aid International — our partners on the ground, founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer — just in time for spring planting.
Onions, tomatoes and much more will soon grow, in back yards throughout the beleaguered town. Click below for a video of the seed distribution; click here to contribute to our continuing drive to help our friends, in as many ways as we can. (Click on the “Designation” drop-down menu; then select “Westport-Lyman.”)
“Pick of the Pics” — the “06880” book highlighting over 100 of our blog’s best Pics of the Day — was published a couple of months ago.
Now it’s time for the launch party.
The event is Sunday, April 30 (2 to 4 p.m., Savvy + Grace, 146 Main Street). Books will be available for purchase at a special price of $20 (regular Amazon price: $24.95).
I’ll be there signing copies; so will Lyah Muktavaram, my “06880” intern who did 99% of the work on it.
Photographers featured in the book can pick up a free book at the launch party too.
The newest “Westport … What’s Happening” podcast continues with 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker’s conversation with Human Services director Elaine Daignault.
They talk about juvenile services and program, the Prevention Coalition for Substance Abuse, and Westport Together.
Click below to listen to the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston podcadst:
Westport favorite Melissa Newman — one of our own — headlines this week’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, April 6; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 7 p.m.; $15 cover; reservations strongly suggested: JazzatthePost@gmail.com).
Joining Melissa: guitarist Tony Lombardozzi, bassist Phil Bowler and drummer Bobby Leonard.
Melissa Newman
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Several members of the Diverse Westport Facebook group attended a dance-a-thon on the Anna & Raven Show. Several dance schools performed BollyX.
The event raised funds for the Tiny Miracles Foundation. As a mother who had a premature baby, Westporter Ifeseyi Gayle can relate.
Also at the event: Kumuda Kumar, Rose Mlay Gardner. Kristen McDonald. Carrie Guttman, Patty Mantilla, Qing Huang, Lucy Rivera, Jenny Stork and Wanda Arias.
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A woman who works at the 55 Greens Farms Road office complex watched sadly yesterday, as Westport police recovered the body of 62-year-old Errol Whyte from a pond on the property.
As she left for home that afternoon, she took a picture of the once-again-peaceful pond. She was heartened, she told “06880,” that “maybe Errol can now rest in peace.”
And finally … there is still plenty of uncertainty and fear in Lyman. Russian forces are near, and continue to bombard our sister city.
But the recent distribution of seeds to 2,000 residents (story above) — thanks to funds provided by Westporters — has brought some light into their lives.
Here’s 3 more minutes of beauty and hope:
(“06880” is indeed where Westport meets the world. Please click here to support your hyper-local, global-minded blog. Thank you!)
Earlier today, the Westport Police responded to a report of a body floating in a retention pond on the office property at 55-57 Greens Farms Road, next to Assumption Cemetery.
The man was identified as Errol Whyte, age 62, of Stamford. He had been missing since December 29, 2022.
The Detective Bureau will conduct an investigation into the circumstances behind his death.
The northeast corner of the office building complex at 55 Greens Farms Road — the one that seems oddly out of place, next to Assumption Cemetery between Hillspoint and Hales Roads — may be the site of Westport’s next cell tower.
The site is an alternate for previous discussions about a tower at 92 Greens Farms Road. Both were proposed by Tarpon Towers and AT&T.
Construction at the office complex would involve a wetland crossing. It will be reviewed by the Westport Conservation Commission on January 31. A public information session is set for February 8 to discuss the 2 locations. Both meetings will be held virtually.
With COVID still hanging around, health and wellness is more important than ever.
WestportMoms just released their 2022 Health &Wellness guide.
They say: “Whether you need new motivation for working out, new ideas for what to cook each night, some CBD to help you sleep, or even someone to help you organize that closet or garage, we have you covered.”
Referring to fellow moms, they add: “We spent 2020Â and 2021 making sure everyone else was feeling ok. Now it’s your turn!”
The State Senator dons his author’s hat on Thursday (January 27, 7 p.m., in-person and Zoom). He’ll talk about his new book: 100,000 First Bosses: My Unlikely Path as a 22-Year-Old Lawmaker.
It’s the story of his campaign for the State Senate at age 22 — and then learning
Will is both a gifted politician and an entertaining author,. For a seat at the Library or to watch from home, click here.
And finally … Jon Lind, who wrote hit songs for Earth Wind & Fire, Madonna, Vanessa Williams and others, died recently. He was 73, and had battled cancer for 2 years.
Among his biggest tunes: “Boogie Wonderland,” “Sun Goddess,” “Crazy for You” and “Save the Best for Last.”
Click here for a full obituary. (Hat tip: Amy Schneider)
Comments Off on Roundup: Cell Tower, Health & Wellness, Will Haskell …
Not the TV show — the actual place. People (usually men) came in at 9. They had assigned spots — size and location directly proportional to their status — along with a “secretary.” They did some work, had lunch, came back, and left at 5.
In 2015, nearly all that has changed. People (men and women) work in all kinds of locations, in all kinds of ways, at all kinds of hours.
Even the name has changed. “Offices” are now “workplaces.”
Which is why Symphony Workplaces is an idea whose time has come. And it’s come to Westport.
The setting is 55 Greens Farms Road. Symphony — which offers flexible workspace and meeting rooms by the hour, day, month or year — occupies 18,000 square feet of the 2nd floor in that odd, often overlooked 2-building complex next to a cemetery.
55 Greens Farms Road: hidden in plain sight, across from I-95 and next to a cemetery.
There, Symphony offers a handsome reception area; 35 offices, ranging in size from 1 person to 24; 7 meeting rooms; a conference/training center, and the “Hub” — a gathering spot to socialize, network, and eat.
Each office has furniture and a phone. One office features a standing desk. There’s a special “phone booth,” for private conversations.
High-speed bandwidth and natural light is everywhere. There’s a gym in the building. And a generator — with a 7-day supply of diesel. I know where I’ll go when the next blackout hits.
Like everything else at Symphony, this board room can be rented out by anyone.
Symphony even offers a “virtual address” program. If a client or vendor plugs your address into Google Maps, the office complex pops up — not your house.
Symphony Workplaces is the brainchild of Nick Logothetis. He developed his 1st shared office space — for attorneys only, complete with a law library — 25 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. Quickly, he realized the concept could move beyond specialized professions.
Nick Logothetis, in the reception area. He took every photo in the entire place.
“Work has changed,” Logothetis explains. “People no longer need to be in a fixed place, at a certain time. But they still need offices. They still have to meet clients, get away from interruptions and interact with other people.”
Logothetis added a 2nd Symphony site in New Jersey, and is building one in Palm Beach. This is his 1st in Connecticut.
He searched for 10 years before finding the perfect Fairfield County spot. Since opening in October, Symphony has attracted a mix of users: branch offices, solo businesses, and an attorney. (There’s no law library, unfortunately.)
They’re impressed with the quality of the facility. “It’s a million-dollar look, for $700 to $800 a month,” Logothetis says proudly.
The “hub,” for socializing, networking — and eating.
But why is it called “Symphony”?
The original name was “Symphony Suites,” Logothetis says. “The idea was to bring together groups of different instruments — businesses — all in harmony.”
Now — as business has evolved — “Suites” has given way to “Workplaces.”
Symphony’s Greens Farms Road site is music to many Westport workers’ ears.
An added attraction: visitors’ names, opposite the elevator doors.
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