Waterfront in Riverside
Fourbedroom colonial with garage, deck, boathouse
“This is a rare opportunity to own two gorgeous separately deeded waterfront properties on a quiet lane in Riverside, with rights to the association beach and dock,” Liz Johnson said of her listing at 3 Perkley Lane—actually, two sideby-side lots with a shingle-style colonial, attached garage and a boathouse.
The combined properties are listed for $3.875 million by the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agent, who noted that it’s the first time in more than 46 years that the property has been for sale, and that the two lots combined afford 0.79-acre and more than 100-feet of direct waterfront.
Johnson introduced her charming clients, Allan and Carol Deering, who kindly recounted their years here as a family. Prior to acquiring this home, the Deerings lived on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich, which proved a little too hustling-and-bustling for their young family. They discovered this home, which every member of the family endorsed.
“Our boys were 13 and 15 at the time, which was great, because they took such advantage of the water,” Carol Deering recalled. “It was a playground for them.”
Both of the adult Deerings appreciated the setting and location of the property, too. “It was on a small little lane, and I adored the house. I still do,” she said.
“The difference between Sound Beach Avenue and Perkley Lane was night and day,” Allan Deering explained. “Here, the traffic is negligible. It’s quiet, with lots of land, and as Carol will tell you, it has quite a view and then there was the use of the water.” They kept a canoe and a small rowboat that they launched from the boathouse.
The boathouse also served as a special occasion venue. The Deerings recalled an untold number of nights spent there with the family and with friends, dining and looking out across Greenwich Cove.
The four-bedroom home has some historic provenance, as well. It was originally built in 1820, according to the Deerings, and served as the residence for the caretaker of a local farm. “The boathouse at the bottom of the property—in fact, that whole inlet—was part of a big oystering operation,” Carol Deering said. “The boathouse was originally a little oyster house, where they bring in the oysters, shuck them, and then ship them out the backdoor. I loved the history. …
“Inside, you sort of a get a sense of what the original house must’ve been like, when it was just a little cottage. It’s had additions as the years went by,” she added. For example, 20 or so years ago, the Deerings saw potential where there was once a mere span of flat roof. They leveraged that space and added a room then.
Today, the house affords 2,376 square feet of living space. The floor plan includes open-plan living and dining rooms, a family room with a fireplace and deck access through French doors. There are also sliders in the breakfast room—adjacent to the kitchen— that opens out to the deck, as well, making for sensible entertaining and living flow.
The kitchen is one of the more recent improvements the Deerings have made to the home. It was newly remodeled within the past 10 years. They’ve also replaced the deck’s flooring, painted and appended the landscaping with flowering and fruit trees.
The Deerings mused about the intimacy and community of living in a neighborhood with fewer than 10 neighbors. “We’d have gettogethers at the dock down at the end of the street,” Allan Deering said.
“When the tide was up, the whole neighborhood could be found at the end of the street, because all the kids were swimming,” his wife shared in the memory. “And so the whole neighborhood—at high tide—would be at the end of the street. We had wonderful parties on the dock.”
The next residents of this home will enjoy association beach rights – in effect, access to this dock, where neighbors still enjoy swimming.
Though, technically, the two parcels could be sold separately, it is the Deering’s intention to sell them together. “It adds to the privacy,” Carol Deering pointed out. The setting is rather idyllic, with stone walls running through the grounds. “Very Connecticut,” she said.
The Deerings wanted potential buyers to know that the location of the home is prime. It’s close to all that Riverside and Old Greenwich have to offer. “People walk to the Village, to the train station, schools, Binney Park,” Allan Deering said. “It’s all convenient.”