‘Blue House’ site ready to complete construction
“I’ve lived in Westport for 35 years and it’s the most spectacular house location that I’ve ever seen in Westport.” James Pendry
WESTPORT — A blue house sits on the waterfront of Hillspoint Road. It’s not actually supposed to be blue. It’s only blue because it’s unfinished, so the wrap underneath the siding is showing — but this won’t be the case forever.
For three years, the property has been on the town’s blight list, but with the Blight Prevention Board recently voting to remove it from the list and a new developer on the project, it’s finally moving forward.
“I’ve lived in Westport for 35 years and it’s the most spectacular house location that I’ve ever seen in Westport,” said new owner James Pendry.
The structure at 233 Hillspoint Road is infamous in town, and is colloquially referred to as “the blue house.” It used to be the site of Positano restaurant, and is being developed into a single-family house.
Blight Prevention Board Chair Joseph Strickland said the previous developer did not construct the building according to plans filed with town departments. This caused a halt in the building process for about three years.
Records from the planning and zoning department show the development dates back to December 2017, when the Zoning Board of Appeals denied an application for lot coverage and setback for the construction of a new singlefamily house on the property. The applicant came back in May 2018 and it was approved, with a house slightly reduced in size and a pool removed from the proposal.
In December 2019, as construction was going on, the department received a complaint that the construction was not in compliance with the approved ZBA plans, including a fireplace and copula that were not allowed. A stop work order was issued that same month by the Building Department.
It turned out the denied application from ZBA was filed instead of the approved one to the Planning and Zoning Department. Appeals were eventually filed, with a settlement coming in July 2022.
The blue house was added to the blight list because certain violations of the town’s Blight Ordinance were committed, Strickland said.
Summit Westport LLC is the new owner of the property and is fixing those issues, allowing it to be removed from the blight list.
Pendry said he hopes “to be able to construct it well and quickly.”
As a real estate developer who lives in the neighborhood, Pendry has been walking past the house for about four years. He jokingly once told the property’s broker he would take over the project if he could raise $50,000 for it.
The broker hounded him a few times about actually taking it over. Pendry eventually went to see the inside of the house, and was surprised to see how much was
completed on the inside. He thought about pricing, and decided to take it over, after seeing some value in the property.
Pendry has since met with neighbors who were involved in the settlement to work out the kinks of the project. The house is planned to be a traditional style.
Since then, ZBA recently approved all but one of his changes, which involves a vegetative buffer at the back of the house, which they said warrants its own application.
Pendry said he has reworked the plan to be more open, including two suites on the second floor and a guest bedroom and library on the first floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the back of the house, overlooking the water. Reprogrammed it for two suites on second floor
He hopes to complete the project by September. Anyone interested in purchasing the house can contact him at 203-913-8137.