The Elephant Graveyard Stirs
After a long winter of nervous apprehension, the top end of the market is coming alive. Until now, almost nothing in the $10,000,000 + range was selling. But Sharon Kinney’s listing at 524 North Street ($10.9) went to contract about a month ago and this past week three more big ones trundle d off to be sold: Shelly Treeter’s listing at 44 Close Road ($9.995); and David Ogilvy’s two listings, 89 Byram Shore Road ($12.750) and 124 Glenwood ($18,000,000). The prices cited are, as usual, the last asking prices and not necessarily what the houses actually sell for, but it’s always a good sign when the top of the market begins stirring. With the S&P up 24% since March, SARS ebbing and Saddam Hussein on the run, permanently or otherwise, it appears that some of the doubt and indecision plaguing the economy may be lifting. Speaking of Mr. Hussein, the New York Times notes that, despite 150,000 troops looking for the man, he has not been found. Isn’t this proof that we were lied to and that he never existed? Just a thought.
Casting Call
21 Lia Fail Way in Cos Cob has just come on the market (as I understand it, the original Lia Fail was a great standing stone which would roar when a rightful Irish king stood upon it. Lia, of course, is Celtic for wheelbarrow and fail means—well, when was the last time you heard of an Irish king? In any event, this Lia Fail is still standing). Six acres of hemlocks, oaks and meadows and a hand built home crafted with chestnut flooring and finished with beams and trim saved from the original Havemeyer mansion. The real surprise is hidden within an ancient hemlock grove: back from the house, built into a hill, sits a 700-seat marble amphitheater which was designed by the late Horton O’Neil and built with the assistance of Depression Era masons who, having completed the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Supreme Court, came north to Greenwich to ply their trade. The amphitheater served as a playground for the O’Neil children (one of whom, upon arriving at a new playmate’s house, asked logically enough, “where’s your theatre?”) and hosted any number of theatrical productions through the years. A very young Jane Fonda once shivered her way through a cold night’s performance of a Mid Summer Night’s Dream when she attended Greenwich Academy in a more innocent time, before Barbarella, Hanoi and the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop. This is one of the last large blocks of land in Eastern Greenwich and offers the perfect opportunity to build the ultimate, magical family compound.
T(h)ree Houses
The marketplace has suddenly developed a liking for homes priced in the middle threes. Seven Desiree ($3.655, Lauro Jardim’s lisiting), 56 Frontier ($3.595, Pam Chiapetta) and 13 Ivanhoe Lane ($3.650, Sandy Shaw) all went to contract last week with Desiree and Ivanhoe going within a day or two after being listed.
Planning & Zoning vs. Byram
Once again, our P&Z has rejected the proposal to rebuild the Byram waterfront, despite the seemingly unanimous support for the project by local residents. I once spent a fair amount of time representing clients before the P&Z and found them to be proof that there are some people who will gladly trade a salary for the power to say “no.” This is not a political column and I try to stay away from election issues but Alan Small, running for First Selectman as an independent, has proposed new, interesting ideas for improving our government. The idea I like best is to televise the proceedings of the P&Z; if more citizens could see these puffed-up bullies in action, I think the roar for reform would be heard border-to-border.
Signing Off
The new owner of WGCH has fired all the local talent and is switching to an automated feed of business news from Chicago. The logic of a business plan that expects Greenwich residents to supplement the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s with canned business advice and current pork belly prices escapes me, but it’s a free country and everyone is free to fail. I do hope, however, that this savaging of our local radio outlet will stamp finished to the proposal to erect a WGCH tower on the North Street School grounds. Why would we possibly want to reward this gentleman by helping him extend the reach of his broadcasts?
After a long winter of nervous apprehension, the top end of the market is coming alive. Until now, almost nothing in the $10,000,000 + range was selling. But Sharon Kinney’s listing at 524 North Street ($10.9) went to contract about a month ago and this past week three more big ones trundle d off to be sold: Shelly Treeter’s listing at 44 Close Road ($9.995); and David Ogilvy’s two listings, 89 Byram Shore Road ($12.750) and 124 Glenwood ($18,000,000). The prices cited are, as usual, the last asking prices and not necessarily what the houses actually sell for, but it’s always a good sign when the top of the market begins stirring. With the S&P up 24% since March, SARS ebbing and Saddam Hussein on the run, permanently or otherwise, it appears that some of the doubt and indecision plaguing the economy may be lifting. Speaking of Mr. Hussein, the New York Times notes that, despite 150,000 troops looking for the man, he has not been found. Isn’t this proof that we were lied to and that he never existed? Just a thought.
Casting Call
21 Lia Fail Way in Cos Cob has just come on the market (as I understand it, the original Lia Fail was a great standing stone which would roar when a rightful Irish king stood upon it. Lia, of course, is Celtic for wheelbarrow and fail means—well, when was the last time you heard of an Irish king? In any event, this Lia Fail is still standing). Six acres of hemlocks, oaks and meadows and a hand built home crafted with chestnut flooring and finished with beams and trim saved from the original Havemeyer mansion. The real surprise is hidden within an ancient hemlock grove: back from the house, built into a hill, sits a 700-seat marble amphitheater which was designed by the late Horton O’Neil and built with the assistance of Depression Era masons who, having completed the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Supreme Court, came north to Greenwich to ply their trade. The amphitheater served as a playground for the O’Neil children (one of whom, upon arriving at a new playmate’s house, asked logically enough, “where’s your theatre?”) and hosted any number of theatrical productions through the years. A very young Jane Fonda once shivered her way through a cold night’s performance of a Mid Summer Night’s Dream when she attended Greenwich Academy in a more innocent time, before Barbarella, Hanoi and the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop. This is one of the last large blocks of land in Eastern Greenwich and offers the perfect opportunity to build the ultimate, magical family compound.
T(h)ree Houses
The marketplace has suddenly developed a liking for homes priced in the middle threes. Seven Desiree ($3.655, Lauro Jardim’s lisiting), 56 Frontier ($3.595, Pam Chiapetta) and 13 Ivanhoe Lane ($3.650, Sandy Shaw) all went to contract last week with Desiree and Ivanhoe going within a day or two after being listed.
Planning & Zoning vs. Byram
Once again, our P&Z has rejected the proposal to rebuild the Byram waterfront, despite the seemingly unanimous support for the project by local residents. I once spent a fair amount of time representing clients before the P&Z and found them to be proof that there are some people who will gladly trade a salary for the power to say “no.” This is not a political column and I try to stay away from election issues but Alan Small, running for First Selectman as an independent, has proposed new, interesting ideas for improving our government. The idea I like best is to televise the proceedings of the P&Z; if more citizens could see these puffed-up bullies in action, I think the roar for reform would be heard border-to-border.
Signing Off
The new owner of WGCH has fired all the local talent and is switching to an automated feed of business news from Chicago. The logic of a business plan that expects Greenwich residents to supplement the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s with canned business advice and current pork belly prices escapes me, but it’s a free country and everyone is free to fail. I do hope, however, that this savaging of our local radio outlet will stamp finished to the proposal to erect a WGCH tower on the North Street School grounds. Why would we possibly want to reward this gentleman by helping him extend the reach of his broadcasts?
posted by Chris Fountain at 9:10 AM
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