The Most Important Threatened Historic Places – Updates

Comstock-Ferre barns, Wethersfield (2007).                

Plans to include part of this historic barn complex into new development now seem shaky at best. The developer, Thomas Coccomo of Coccomo Brothers Associates, indicated last November that he would consider incorporating the oldest section of the complex into the proposed development. Coccomo told the Connecticut Trust that he had re-submitted plans to the Wethersfield Planning and Zoning office using schematic drawings prepared by the Trust and Crosskey Architects, although it is not clear that the plans ever made it to the town.              

Since then, Coccomo has said that he is under extreme pressure to move forward quickly. A neighborhood group is appealing the Local Historic District (LHD) ruling that allowed the development in the first place; the owner of the complex simply wants to sell as soon as possible; and Coccomo’s partners are losing patience. Because of this, the developer may give up on any preservation planning or even pull out of the project entirely.            

The Trust has offered to help the developers apply for historic rehabilitation tax credits, which could defray the added costs of incorporating the historic barn into the new development, but Coccomo has not responded to this offer.           

As of February 15th, Peter Gillespie, Economic Developer for the Town of Wethersfield, reports that Coccomo had re-submitted new plans, but those plans did not match the historic barn’s footprint. The plans also did not fit the minimum requirements for the P&Z office and so were rejected.