A 1910 Colonial Revival house at 190 North Ave. is one step away from receiving an official historic designation from the town after the Historic District Commission (HDC) voted unanimously to recommend the house for the status.

On Monday, the commission supported an application from developer Johnny Schwartz, who is seeking a zoning incentive that would permit him to divide the house’s 2.7-acre site and build a second home on the new parcel that would be created.

Under town zoning for the area, each home would need at least two acres of property. But the town’s 32-18 historic preservation law provides an exception to the zoning in exchange for the owner’s commitment to preserve the building’s historic character.

 “The property is big enough that it can handle another lot,” said Schwartz, founder of Sam Development, after the meeting. He also said the house is worthy of preservation, an argument that consultant Daryn Reyman-Lock made for him on the Zoom meeting on Monday. 

“It’s a really beautiful example of a colonial revival,” Reyman-Lock said. An extension on the house also was built in the historically significant timeframe, she said. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, the application had not been passed on to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which makes the final decision, said Town Planning and Zoning Director Michelle Perillie.

Schwartz purchased the two-story house under the entity 190 North Avenue LLC in mid-June for $1,525,000. The 3,360-square-foot home features four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The HDC agreed that the house is worthy of the historic status because of its character and its location away from the road, as well as because of two barns on the site. Also deemed significant was the history of the house, which was built by Henry Heunover, a longtime Westport postmaster who was born to German immigrants in New York City.

“If it was (built) in the age of the automobile, it would have been sited differently,” ARB Chairman Benjamin Levites said. “The barns are pretty impressive too and they’re in really great shape.”

Even close to the Merritt Parkway, the property has a bucolic feel, Levites said.

“You turn down that drive and you’re in a different time,” he said.