Stamford. Preservationists have filed suit against Saint
Andrew’s Episcopal Church and developer Randy Salvatore to prevent the
demolition of the church’s rectory for new development (see CPN,
September/October 2009).
A new nonprofit
organization, Save Old Stamford, Inc., was formed to carry out the lawsuit under
the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act, which allows any citizen to sue
to prevent the unreasonable demolition of buildings listed on, or under consideration
for, the National Register.
The church is struggling
financially and says that selling part of its land for development is the only
way it can afford to remain open. The parish has forwarded several development
schemes over the past 20 years, some that would reuse the rectory and some that
would not. None of the plans made it past the starting block.
In July the city planning and
zoning commission approved the latest plans, which call for a 94-unit apartment
building on the site of the rectory, which would either be demolished or moved
before the land is transferred to the developer. The house has been offered for
moving, including through the Connecticut Trust’s Historic Properties Exchange,
but there have been no takers.
Preservationists argue that the
property could be developed around the rectory. One plan that would have done
just that was approved last year, but it fell through when that developer went
bankrupt.
The
rectory, built in 1873 and designed by the prominent architect Henry Hudson
Holly, is a Victorian Gothic residence built of stone with brick trim and has a
lacy wooden porch. Like the church itself, the rectory is listed on the
National Register.
A delay of
demolition period under city ordinance expired on December 1, but the building
is currently under an injunction against demolition, pending a hearing in the
case, which began on December 14.
At the same
time that Saint Andrew’s rectory faces possible demolition, Stamford
is celebrating the restoration of the Old Town Hall,
located just a few blocks away from the church. The 1906 building, which had
fallen into disrepair, is being rehabilitated with funding from the federal New
Market Tax Credits for Low Income Communities. Although the building was
officially “reopened” in November, construction will not be completed until
spring. A tenant is still needed for the building.
