Historic Designation, Restoration Being Proposed For Greenwich Home

GREENWICH, CT — Plans to renovate and restore a single-family home in Greenwich and offer it protection through an historic designation have been submitted to the town's planning & zoning commission.

The home is located at 12 Grigg St., in downtown Greenwich, and is owned by 12 Grigg Street LLC, according to documents filed with the town.

The owner is proposing to make improvements to the existing structure and introduce office use on the first and second floors while keeping residential use on the third floor.

The owner has been working with the local firm of VanderHorn Architects and the Greenwich Historical Society to research the history of the structure, which is located on "a uniquely well-preserved street" and dates back to 1900.

According to the project narrative on the home included with the filed documents, the house "is a beautiful example of gable-front national folk architecture form the turn of the century."

But the home has "undergone some unfortunate renovations" over the years, notably in 1994 when the first floor kitchen and bathroom were renovated, documents state.

Among the changes, asbestos cement shingle siding was installed over the existing wood clapboard, and all the original wood windows were replaced with vinyl insert windows.

"It is our hope that by rehabilitating it with an eye on the traditional style and materials, its charming character can be renewed," the narrative reads. "Fortunately, many of the original defining features and details of the house still exist today and can be restored."

The proposed design would use "traditional materials and forms appropriate to the original style and period of the house," the narrative reads. The view from the street would be returned to its original design, with the most visible restorations being new wood traditional windows, wood siding and a cedar roof.

A new forced air heating and cooling system would be installed, and a new concrete foundation with a stone veneer would be poured.

In October, Greenwich's Historic District Commission (HDC) recommended to the planning & zoning commission the rezoning from Residential to Historic Overlay for the home.

In a letter included in submitted documents to planning & zoning, HDC Chair Stephen Bishop said the proposed changes to the home "preserve the present streetscape and restore many lost and hidden architectural details."

The item has not yet been scheduled to go before the planning & zoning commission.