Update: The date and time of the Havemeyer Building Proposal Public Forum has been changed from Monday June 9 to Wednesday June 11, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, in the Town Hall Meeting Room. The chair of the RFP committee said the change was to avoid being on the same evening as the RTM meeting.
Click here for the Zoom link.
A recommendation from the Havemeyer RFP Evaluation Committee on the Havemeyer building on Greenwich Avenue is now available on the town website.
Click here for the report dated May 20, 2025.
According to chair Andy Duus, an information session is tentatively being scheduled for Monday, June 9.
Meanwhile on June 27, the Historic District Commission has scheduled a site visit (considered a public meting) to the Havemeyer property, a new targeted site for locating a statue of George HW Bush. Previously it was proposed to be located in the Veterans Plaza in front of the historic former post office building.
The Havemeyer building was constructed in 1892 as a public school. The town-owned building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In fact, Greenwich Avenue itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building has been home to the Board of Education staff for 77 years.
Tile mosaic inside the Havemeyer building features the date of the building’s completion. May 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Back in 2009, funds were raised toward converting the building to an arts center.
A group of citizens who proposed the “adaptive reuse” of the building formed The Greenwich Center for the Arts, Inc. (GCA), and as they attempted to make the proposal a reality, they raised millions of dollars in pledges. But ultimately their dream was not achieved.
Offices at the Havemeyer building are off an extra wide corridor, a reminder that the building was originally a public school. Photo: Leslie Yager May 21, 2024
Entrance to a large space used for storage says, “Drawing Room.” May 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
In 2023, Pustola & Associates, Engineers/Constructors did an overall assessment of the building, which indicated it had no significant safety or structural deficiencies. They noted the building lacks an elevator and needs work to become ADA compliant, but that most of the structure was more than adequate for current load-bearing needs and building code.
More recently, during the May 2024 Board of Education meeting, First Selectman Fred Camillo and Mr. Duus said they had found potential rental space for the BOE administration in Greenwich Plaza, so they could move out of the Havemeyer building.
Camillo told the BOE that it didn’t make sense to house a government entity on Greenwich Avenue, which he described as the heart of the town’s business, commercial and entertainment district.
“This project would fill a hospitality void on Greenwich Ave., extant since the 1973 demolition of the Pickwick Arms Hotel.” – RFP Committee Recommendation
“This is something that should be returned to the people of Greenwich,” Camillo said at the time.
School board members balked at the annual rent at Greenwich Plaza of approximately $2.8 million, excluding utilities.
At the same meeting schools superintendent Dr. Toni Jones said she had researched available office space herself. “We’re looking up and down Putnam, not too far from the center of town – the big reason for that is we are open 12 months a year,” she said.
“We have a lot of families that come in to enroll their children and we need to be accessible by public transportation,” she continued, adding that English language classes are held in the Havemeyer building in the evenings.
Mr. Camillo established in early July 2024 a bipartisan RFP Evaluation Committee of residents with knowledge and experience with the Town and/or with property development. Committee members initially included Carole Acunto, Andy Duus, Bill Finger, Dev Hawley, Marc Johnson, Joe Kelly, David Kubik, and David Weisbrod.
Two BOE members – Karen Hirsh and Sophie Koven – were added to the committee several days after the July 24, 2024 filing of the RFP, meaning they didn’t get to review or participate in its crafting.
After two extensions, there were six proposals submitted by a December 20, 2024, deadline: A-List Design LLC, Eagles Peebles Legacy Havemeyer LLC, Fareri Associates, HB Nitkin Group, LCB Senior Living, and RT Havemeyer Partners.
Undated photo courtesy Greenwich Historical Society
The RFP Committee’s recommendations – which will be subject to public hearings, land use and other approvals, and require positive votes from the RTM and BET – were informed by the RFP responses, interviews with some of the proposal teams, and internal deliberation.
The committee’s recommendations included restoring and repurposing the historic building as a boutique hotel with about 70 rooms, restaurant and community cultural destination, possibly named, “The Havemeyer.”
The recommendation was to fully restore the auditorium as a venue for theater, live music, lectures and dining for use by community groups. Another recommendation was to add a skylit multi purpose event space with additional dining space, a conference facility with a boardroom, a rooftop café and bar with views of playing fields and Long Island Sound, plus new plantings, walkways and public seating in the parkland around the building.
The recommendations state, “This project would fill a hospitality void on Greenwich Ave., extant since the 1973 demolition of the Pickwick Arms Hotel.”
As for re-locating BOE staff, the recommendations included an optional new office building on the southern part of the property, with underground parking to serve the BOE offices and maximize available spaces for the hotel and event parking on weekends and evenings. Off-site parking would be secured by the developer as required by the Town.
Per the committee’s recommendations, the developer’s ground lease payments would fund the cost of temporary relocation of BOE staff during construction, with the remaining balance going toward the cost of the permanent home for the BOE staff.
Local property taxes and economic activity at both the hotel and optional new garage office building would benefit the town, as would the increased increased economic activity on Greenwich Avenue.
Lastly, the lease between the Town and the developer/operator would ensure long-term maintenance and use of the facilities to a high standard. The lease agreement would also describe the Town’s enforcement rights and process for reversion.
In their report, the evaluation committee said they believed the proposal submitted by Eagle Peebles Legacy Havemeyer LLC (or “Eagle/Peebles”) – a joint venture comprising The Peebles Corporation and its affiliate Legacy Real Estate Development, and Eagle Ventures – had the highest potential to meet the objectives.
Summary of the Eagle/Peebles Proposal:
1. Renovate and Repurpose the Havemeyer Building as a Boutique Hotel
● Eagle/Peebles proposes to renovate and convert the Havemeyer Building into a 71-room boutique hotel, restaurant, and event space. The renovated structure would include a fill-in addition in the building’s north-west corner that would complement the building’s attractive east- and south-facing facades.
● The hotel would feature underground “parking spaces for hotel staff, a grand atrium, a rehabilitated auditorium which could host a world-class restaurant and cultural events, and a rooftop event space” overlooking Havemeyer fields.
● The restored auditorium would operate as a theater, which would be available to other organizations or members of the public to rent for private or community purposes. When not otherwise reserved, it would be used as a dining venue for the hotel’s restaurant.
Photo of original auditorium (view from stage onto seating) in the Havemeyer building. Photo: GHS Compass yearbook.
Ductwork and insulation in the auditorium inside the Havemeyer building. May 21, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Rendering from Eagle/Peebles response to RFP.
● Overall, the renovated building would encompass a total of 70,378 gross SF (53,787 SF in the original structure and 17,571 SF in the addition).
● Eagle/Peebles would wholly-fund the building’s redevelopment cost, which it estimates would be $70,541,158 (on a levered basis). This amount includes a proposed upfront payment of $10.5 million to the Town for a 99-year ground lease for the entire Havemeyer lot (2.7 acres, inclusive of the Havemeyer Building). Additionally, Eagle/Peebles believes that the renovated Havemeyer Building would contribute recurring property tax revenue up to $650,000 annually. A financial assessment by the Town as to the reasonableness of these payments is essential and would be a key component of any work going forward.
As an optional addition to the base case, the Respondent proposes the construction of a bespoke office space for the Greenwich Board of Education on the existing surface parking on the south side of the site. Rendering: David Scott Parker Architects
Renderings: David Scott Parker Architects
2. The Optional Construction of a New Building, Separate from the Havemeyer Building, Comprising Parking and Offices
● Eagle/Peebles also provided the Town the option for the construction of a new building at the southern end of the Havemeyer site, to where the BOE staff could ultimately relocate. This structure would have four levels, of which (a) the top two floors would provide 20,750 SF of office space and (b) on the bottom two floors would provide parking for 97 cars.
● As with the proposed conversion of the Havemeyer Building, Eagle/Peebles would wholly-fund the development cost of the new building, which it estimates would be $28.9 million (on a levered basis). If or until the Town would acquire ownership of the building, the new office space would be rented at market rates.
Eagle/Peebles Project Team
The project team for the Eagle/Peebles proposal comprise a set of organizations that possess substantial local knowledge and experience.
The developer is a joint venture between (a) The Peebles Corporation and its affiliate Legacy Real Estate Development, and (b) Eagle Ventures.
● Peebles was founded in 1982 by Don Peebles and has a portfolio of active and completed developments totaling more than 10 million square feet and $8 billion in gateway cities throughout the country. It has extensive experience with public-private partnerships. Coincidently, Peebles is the largest Black-owned, privately held, national real estate and development company in the country. Legacy Real Estate Development possesses extensive experience with tax credits and restoring historic structures.
● Eagle Ventures is a Greenwich-based real estate investment and advisory company, founded by Greenwich-native James Cabrera in 2012. Notable local projects include the redevelopment of 100 West Putnam Ave (the former US Tobacco headquarters), the repositioning of Pickwick Plaza and the Delamar Hotel Greenwich Harbor, and the planning and horizontal development of the Harbor Point development in Stamford.
The architects are David Scott Parker Architects as the design architect, and Granoff Architects as the architect of record.
● Founded in 1989, David Scott Parker Architects, proposed as the Design Architect, possess substantial experience in restoring and reinvigorating historic structures throughout the country. Notable projects include numerous National Historic Landmarks (e.g., the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C.), the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, and, locally, the Greenwich Historical Society
● Also founded in 1989, Granoff Architects is proposed as the Architect of Record. With offices in Greenwich and Palm Beach, it is well-known for its restorations of the former Greenwich Post Office (across from the Havemeyer Building and now a showroom for Restoration Hardware) and the former 1928 CL&P Building (located at 330 Railroad Avenue, and now Granoff Architects’ headquarters).
The construction team would include:
● A.P. Construction – the construction division of The Ashforth Company, which has completed over 235 projects in Greenwich in the past 15 years.
● McKissack & McKissack – the oldest minority-owned professional design and construction services firm in the US
See also:
RFP Issued for Redevelopment of Greenwich’s Historic Havemeyer Building, Home to Schools Administration July 25, 2024
Havemeyer Committee Considers $673K in Trust Fund, Ownership and Use of Historic Building December 14, 2022
Special Committee to Evaluate Options for Future Use of Historic Havemeyer Building November 28, 2022
