By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT–The building at 50 Post Road West has been both an icon and an eyesore for decades. New owners of the property brought renovation plans to the Architectural Review Board on Tuesday. Their plans to convert the property to an apartment building were largely applauded by the members of the ARB. The Greek Revival façade will be preserved, but some tweaks must be planned before the ARB approves the design.

Built in 1900, the property was purchased by Botero Property Management Inc. in 2024 for $2 million. It is listed as an office building in the town records. The property also includes a small separate building behind the main building that was once used as retail space, Tomas Botero, representing the owners, told the ARB.

Neglected

The main building “was neglected for the past 34 years,” by the previous owner, Pollack Westfair Associates, Botero said.

His company’s plans for the property include renovating the exterior and converting the main building into 13 apartment units with five units on the first floor, five on the second, and three on the third or “attic floor,” he said. 

The plan also calls for four additional units in a new building that will replace the former retail space, he said.

Porch and façade preserved

The front of the main building including the porch and façade will be preserved, Botero assured the ARB, with the columns recreated to look “essentially the way it was.” The new building in the rear, however, “will emulate an old barn aesthetic,” he said in a letter to the ARB outlining the project.

It was the design of the smaller four-unit building that drew the most criticism from ARB members. David Halpern called the barn doors on the rear building “decorations that are not operative,” although he said he did like other aspects of the project. Alternate member Jacquelyn Richardson said she thought that adding the barn doors could be “a mistake in trying to contrive too much.”

The barn doors were included in the plan to give the building a more residential feel rather than a commercial look, Botero said.

Incredible addition

Other comments from ARB members included Vesna Herman’s request for more natural light on the top floors of the main building, which Botero said could be improved by adding skylights. Board Chair Ward French asked for the design of the dormers to be tweaked. “They’re really out of scale,” he said. “I’d like you to look again at the dormers.”

RTM District 2 member Louis Mall lives near 50 Post Road West and spoke up during the public session of the meeting. After years of watching the peeling paint and deterioration of property, Mall said the renovated building is “going to be an incredible addition to the neighborhood.” 

French concluded the meeting, asking the developer to return with the minor revisions that had been discussed at the meeting. “We all applaud the effort,” he said. “It’s a good project that can be tweaked to be a little bit better.” 

Read more Westport Journal coverage of the ARB

• Long Lots design plan passes ARB review
• ARB is a ‘no’ on Hamlet: Saugatuck project ‘architecturally doesn’t work’
• New shop’s yellow storefront triggers boards’ caution 
• ARB signs off on Montessori, hunt club projects

Gretchen Webster

^{_{Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, has reported for the daily Greenwich Time and Norwalk Hour, the weekly Westport News, Fairfield Citizen and Weston Forum. She was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman for ten years. She has won numerous journalism awards over the years, and taught journalism at New York University and Southern Connecticut State University.}}