At Town Hall on Wednesday evening, June 11, 2025, residents of Greenwich were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the future use of the historic Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue, which has housed the Board of Education offices for 77 years. With a predetermined two-hour time limit for the meeting, the Havemeyer RFP Evaluation Committee presented its recommended selection from six proposal submissions. Then it allowed 25 individuals, organizations, and non-profits to express their public comments.
The selected proposal’s main focus is to renovate and convert the building into a 71-room boutique hotel, restaurant, and event space with underground parking. While just a few of the responders supported the recommendation, the significant majority expressed a variety of concerns, which ranged from the selection process itself, a lack of vision for downtown, parking, traffic, minimal use of community features, and no public need for a hotel on the Avenue. At the same time, some cited a preference for another proposal by Chuck Royce and John Fareri, for the adaptive reuse of the building that includes a local performing arts and cultural center for the town.
The Committee stated upfront that this was the start of the planning process, not the end. To finalize the plan, there would be more public forums in the future if necessary. Based on the concerns of those who commented at this initial meeting, it would appear that more hearings will follow. There should be an opportunity for backcountry and all residents of Greenwich to shape and have input into the final plan.
