Whinger’s Mail Call
Noted Greenwich architect Aristotle (OnassisPlatoSocratesOedipusRex) Crist has complained that I misspelled his name in a previous column. In fact, I was referring to Eris Krist, the Shelton-based designer of solar powered pig styes and outhouses. We regret the confusion. Attorney Tom Ward points outthat, while I praised his new Old Greenwich restaurant, the Beach House Café, I neglected to mention his excellent lawyering skills. We’ll do that soon, Tom. In the meantime, that Rhode Island calamari is a winner. At least one irate reader has ignored my plea not to write and has accused me of mangling the name and the merits of the late-but-not-lamented Angie Viscardi’s Colonial Inn. We don’t reply to rude correspondents, ma’am. Mr. and Mrs. Biff Castron III have identified themselves as the new owners of the pile of builder’s dreck I mentioned recently and have invited me to their first dinner party so that I can reconsider my criticisms. Because they directed me to wear a tuxedo, bring a large tray and use the service entrance, I think I’ll pass.
Houses of Note
Three houses are on the market in the higher end of the spectrum, each as different from the other as they are to most of what else is being offered today. 521 Field Point Road is a beautifully built new (2001) home that resembles a fine ship, brought to shore and perched on a elegant yard. Designed by the owner, it was built by Hobbs, which means it has absolutely top quality everything. Five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a pool, beautiful wainscoting and trim all in a very manageable 5,200 square feet. $5,950,000 which, given its address, seems about right. 297 Shore Road in the Belle Haven area is a 1929 classic set way up on a hill. Once owned by Dr. Bill Langdon (I happen to remember the exact two days I met the man—by coincidence, they fall on my daughters’ birthdays) the new owners have done a complete renovation, upgrading the mechanicals, adding a new master bedroom suite and library, etc. There are plans prepared for an additional thousand square foot addition for a new, larger kitchen and additional bedrooms but, while the almost acre-and-a-half lot could certainly accommodate it, I like this house just the way it is. Leonide Prince has listed it at $4,495,000. 314 Stanwich Road, designed by Jay Haverson and built with his partner, Mark Spector, is simply an astonishingly beautiful house set right on Frye Lake with fantastic water views from every room. Everything in the house: its design; construction; cabinet work and trim is of superb quality. It has its own dock and even its own (very small) private island. $6,300,000.
25 Butler Street
Not every new listing is priced in the mega-million range. This one is a nifty little house with a great back yard, new kitchen and seems to be in excellent condition. It’s priced at $835,000 which seems just right or even a tad under-priced. I anticipate a bidding war.
Market Conditions
Extremely active. As of this writing, there are twenty-seven homes in Old Greenwich under contract, twenty-four in Riverside and eighty in total around town. Those numbers do not include houses which have accepted offers but have not yet gone to contract. Even the six million dollar plus range, nearly dormant for the past two years, has come to life, with several accepted offers.
Out of Town
I wanted to show 25 Butler Street to some clients of mine but they have decided instead to leave their own small house in Greenwich and move to Trumbull, where they have bought a huge, brand-new house with all the bells and whistles, including a great big yard, for $800,000. The town will be poorer to lose these very nice people, and I wonder how many other families we’re losing. Greenwich, of course, has always been more expensive than other towns but there were once pockets where people with ordinary incomes could find affordable houses. Those are disappearing very, very quickly. How big a disparity is there between our town and others? Using Fairfield as an example, I know of a brand new house on the water there asking $1,750,000. This is direct waterfront, with great sweeping views across Long Island Sound and down to the Manhattan skyline. In Greenwich, a building lot—forget the house—with that kind of waterfront would sell for far more than $2,000,000. I am not predicting a collapse of the Greenwich real estate market; more likely, prices in neighboring towns will rise closer to ours, but I do wonder where we expect folks to live.
Noted Greenwich architect Aristotle (OnassisPlatoSocratesOedipusRex) Crist has complained that I misspelled his name in a previous column. In fact, I was referring to Eris Krist, the Shelton-based designer of solar powered pig styes and outhouses. We regret the confusion. Attorney Tom Ward points outthat, while I praised his new Old Greenwich restaurant, the Beach House Café, I neglected to mention his excellent lawyering skills. We’ll do that soon, Tom. In the meantime, that Rhode Island calamari is a winner. At least one irate reader has ignored my plea not to write and has accused me of mangling the name and the merits of the late-but-not-lamented Angie Viscardi’s Colonial Inn. We don’t reply to rude correspondents, ma’am. Mr. and Mrs. Biff Castron III have identified themselves as the new owners of the pile of builder’s dreck I mentioned recently and have invited me to their first dinner party so that I can reconsider my criticisms. Because they directed me to wear a tuxedo, bring a large tray and use the service entrance, I think I’ll pass.
Houses of Note
Three houses are on the market in the higher end of the spectrum, each as different from the other as they are to most of what else is being offered today. 521 Field Point Road is a beautifully built new (2001) home that resembles a fine ship, brought to shore and perched on a elegant yard. Designed by the owner, it was built by Hobbs, which means it has absolutely top quality everything. Five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a pool, beautiful wainscoting and trim all in a very manageable 5,200 square feet. $5,950,000 which, given its address, seems about right. 297 Shore Road in the Belle Haven area is a 1929 classic set way up on a hill. Once owned by Dr. Bill Langdon (I happen to remember the exact two days I met the man—by coincidence, they fall on my daughters’ birthdays) the new owners have done a complete renovation, upgrading the mechanicals, adding a new master bedroom suite and library, etc. There are plans prepared for an additional thousand square foot addition for a new, larger kitchen and additional bedrooms but, while the almost acre-and-a-half lot could certainly accommodate it, I like this house just the way it is. Leonide Prince has listed it at $4,495,000. 314 Stanwich Road, designed by Jay Haverson and built with his partner, Mark Spector, is simply an astonishingly beautiful house set right on Frye Lake with fantastic water views from every room. Everything in the house: its design; construction; cabinet work and trim is of superb quality. It has its own dock and even its own (very small) private island. $6,300,000.
25 Butler Street
Not every new listing is priced in the mega-million range. This one is a nifty little house with a great back yard, new kitchen and seems to be in excellent condition. It’s priced at $835,000 which seems just right or even a tad under-priced. I anticipate a bidding war.
Market Conditions
Extremely active. As of this writing, there are twenty-seven homes in Old Greenwich under contract, twenty-four in Riverside and eighty in total around town. Those numbers do not include houses which have accepted offers but have not yet gone to contract. Even the six million dollar plus range, nearly dormant for the past two years, has come to life, with several accepted offers.
Out of Town
I wanted to show 25 Butler Street to some clients of mine but they have decided instead to leave their own small house in Greenwich and move to Trumbull, where they have bought a huge, brand-new house with all the bells and whistles, including a great big yard, for $800,000. The town will be poorer to lose these very nice people, and I wonder how many other families we’re losing. Greenwich, of course, has always been more expensive than other towns but there were once pockets where people with ordinary incomes could find affordable houses. Those are disappearing very, very quickly. How big a disparity is there between our town and others? Using Fairfield as an example, I know of a brand new house on the water there asking $1,750,000. This is direct waterfront, with great sweeping views across Long Island Sound and down to the Manhattan skyline. In Greenwich, a building lot—forget the house—with that kind of waterfront would sell for far more than $2,000,000. I am not predicting a collapse of the Greenwich real estate market; more likely, prices in neighboring towns will rise closer to ours, but I do wonder where we expect folks to live.
posted by Chris Fountain at 10:44 AM
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