Submitted by Adele Rota, Glenville
Dear Editor and fellow citizens,
The fate of the Havemeyer Building (the current home of the Board of Education) on Greenwich Avenue seemed to have been on everyone’s minds and was literally the talk of the town back in early summer after the June 11, 2025 public meeting to hear the recommendations of The First Selectman’s Advisory Committee on the Havemeyer Building.
The sentiment of the citizens of Greenwich was nearly universally opposed to the proposal recommended by the Committee for a “boutique hotel” as well as to the process to arrive at the recommendation.
The opposition was from across all age groups, parts of town, from all socioeconomic groups and members of both political parties.
The proposal presented by the Committee was by all indications objectionable to the citizens because it was not the best use of this long neglected gem for our town.
One proposal briefly presented at that public meeting seemed to resonate with a significant number of attendees and deserves more attention and discussion – the Chuck Royce and John Fareri proposal for an adaptive reuse of the historic Havemeyer Building into a dynamic, community-focused performing arts center.
This proposal accomplishes so many important things – not the least of which is restoring the Havemeyer Building while transforming Greenwich Avenue and bringing this long neglected crown jewel to new levels of greatness to benefit the entire community.
I have a suggestion (my Christmas wish) to add an additional component to this proposal. It would incorporate moving the Greenwich Arts Council (and their sub-tenants including: Greenwich Arts Society, Greenwich Choral Society, Greenwich Symphony, Open Arts Alliance and others) from their current home at 299 Greenwich Avenue to the Havemeyer Building as part of the Arts Center, directly across the street.
This would allow the Wallace Center (formerly the Greenwich Senior Center) the current occupant of the lower level and first floor at 299 Greenwich Avenue to assume the Greenwich Arts Council space on the second and third floors. It’s important to note that while the number of aging baby boomers continues to grow as does the senior population in Greenwich, the footprint and square footage of the senior center has not increased since they move into the building in 1977.
Programming at the Wallace Center is woefully limited due to space constraints. The additional two floors along with performance space across the street would be transformational for all the seniors of Greenwich. The Arts Center would be a transformative anchor for Greenwich Avenue and for the entire Greenwich community. The Royce Fareri project already had millions of dollars pledged and could be another shining example of a public private partnership for our beloved town.
My hope, and that of many others, is that Messers. Royce and Fareri are still interested in putting this project forward for consideration. Let’s see if we can reignite this discussion.
Adele Rota
Glenville
The author is the CoChair of the Friends of the Wallace Center however the views expressed here are exclusively her own and do not reflect or represent the opinions of that organization.