National Hall deal dead, Westport RTM overturns zoning decision

Based on Westport's history, many would have predicted otherwise, but very early Thursday morning, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) overturned a zoning decision that would have paved the way for a sale of the Inn at National Hall and allowed a conversion into an office building.

It was the first time since 1981 that the RTM overturned a zoning decision, according to Matthew Mandell, who chairs the Planning and Zoning committee of the RTM.

The $9 million sale of the National Hall on 2 Post Road W. and its surrounding buildings in the Historic Design District is now dead, according to Larry Weisman, an attorney representing Greenfield Partners, a Norwalk-based real investment company that hoped to use National Hall for their corporate headquarters. He said his clients are "done" with the purchase.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed," said Weisman after the decision was rendered at approximately 12:30 a.m. "I hope it's a good decision for the town. I have my doubts, but time will tell."

Paula Savignol, the owner of the building on 18 Post Road W. that houses the L'Antiquaire antique store, filed an appeal in December against the Planning and Zoning Commission's (P&Z) decision in Bridgeport Superior Court. Her building is the only one in the district that would not have been included in the sale. On Wednesday night her husband Michael reported that they would withdraw the lawsuit.

The resident manager of the high-end, 16-room inn, Marco Degl'Innocenti, said that with the deal dead, the building is likely going back on the market, which "opens up a whole lot of possibilities."

"The inn and I have never been informed of the details of the deal, but for $9 million, you don't need to be Warren Buffet to make that work," he said.

Weisman said last week that if the deal that Greenfield Partners was hoping to make with the current owners, Antares Investment Partners, didn't go through, then TD Bank would take over and have a "fire sale." Greenfield Partners sold the building to Antares in 2006 for approximately $20 million.

In order for the RTM to rule on a P&Z decision, at least 20 signatures by a petitioner must be obtained. The text amendment that would have allowed offices on the ground floor of the National Hall building was approved in December by the P&Z. Local merchants based on the west bank of the Saugatuck River led the charge on the petition to overturn the decision.

Dina Berger, owner of the Age of Reason on 19 Post Road W., was pleased with the RTM's decision. She, along with other retailers in the area, argued that financial woes described in the area by Weisman were self-inflicted. She said that Antares Investment Partners would not return her calls when she was inquiring about renting one of her buildings, and would then cite the vacancies as a reason to have the buildings rezoned.

"I think it's incredible how much effort everybody put in and I think people really wrestled with the issues. I'm very pleased," Berger said. "I had not been intimately involved in the workings of the town, and I just admire how much thought and hard work and attention everyone gave everything."

Once the petition was filed, the P&Z committee of the RTM spent two nights last week discussing the decision before recommending it be overturned. Wednesday's meeting lasted four-and-a-half hours, with testimony from P&Z commission members, local retailers, representatives from Greenfield Partners and members of the public opposed to the zoning change.

"The right decision was made for Westport," said Mandell. "The RTM represents the people, and we did what we think the people wanted."

The Historic Design District was created in 1987 as a means to protect several buildings situated on the west bank of the Saugatuck River. Zoning regulations prevent offices from being on the ground floor, although it is zoned for condominiums. Permission was granted to build condos in 2006, but they were never built.

The district is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Hall could be considered the centerpiece. Built in 1873, it towers over the surrounding buildings. Originally, there was a dock where merchants would unload their products and place them in National Hall. It served a variety of uses since then, such as a state police department, a basketball court, and since 1993, an inn.