By Anne W. Semmes
See Part 1 of this story from last week’s Arts Section here: https://www.greenwichsentinel.com/2026/01/09/peter-malkin-bea-crumbine-and-chuck-royce-share-their-dreams-for-a-havemeyer-performing-art-center/
Fred Camillo – First Selectman
First Selectman Fred Camillo has a challenge on his desk. To relocate the hundred or so Board of Education (BOE) members from the historic Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue. “It doesn’t make sense to rehabilitate it and spend tens of millions to put the Board of Ed back in there when they only need 19,000 square feet for their offices and it’s 53,000 square feet.”
“And it’s one of the most expensive pieces of property in town in the business district,” told Camillo, “And it’s falling apart and it’s underused and it’s a government entity.” But a particular feature he is especially drawn to in the building. “I would love to see the auditorium rebuilt. They’ve butchered the old auditorium, which is a sin. So, whatever goes in there, I want to see a public access component to it.”
With that BOE relocation Camillo is dealing with finding a new BOE location. And he has support coming from the new chair of BOE, Michael Joseph Mercani-Anthony. “They all know the building is falling apart. They are a bit more open-minded.”
And an idea has arisen from that RFP Committee that was formed to solicit competitive proposals – with seven at-present-not-accepted proposals. “I learned from Andy Duus [who headed the RFP Committee],” said Camillo, “that we could build an addition to the Town Hall and have the BOE behind in a building that has some parking. I think that’s a fantastic idea. So, that’s what I’m working on…We explored building on top of the Town Hall parking lot, but we don’t know if it’s structurally sound enough to take the load.”
Addressing that 1980 transformation of the Town Hall from the Greenwich High School, he told, “They had taken off the back building where there was a gym, which was crazy because it would have solved all our issues. So, we could build a freestanding building on the lower parking lot, which may work better and have a bridge going over to Town Hall, and it doesn’t impede anybody’s views. And it may be cheaper to do it that way.” He has shared this proposal by various government entities with, “What do you think?” “Everybody loved the idea.”
So, at present Camillo is looking towards a possible public/private partnership to realize a repurposing of the Havemeyer building along with providing a new and nearby BOE location. And what might that cost be? “We’ve heard anywhere from $20 million to $74 million.” Yes, the Eagle/Peebles proposal includes a 70-room hotel redo, with rooftop restaurant, while the John Ferari/Chuck Royce proposal offered its performing arts black box theater, with 18 condos built atop the Havemeyer parking lot – both hotel rooms and condos not receiving public appeal.
“We have some ideas about who could donate here,” told Camillo. “At the end of the day, I’m going back to Eagle/Peebles and say, ‘The task force liked your idea the best. However, we would like to see you do A, B, and C.’ And they may say, ‘No deal.’”
Camillo noted that the arts councils want to be involved in the repurposing. “Maybe we could do something on the ground floor because the maintenance shed for the BOE doesn’t have to be on the Avenue. That’s ridiculous.”
“So, if it’s a public/private partnership, we’re going to have to get lots of approvals,” added Camillo, “The new chairman of the BET, David Weisbrod, a Democrat, supports the idea. The Board of Selectmen will be involved, and the Planning and Zoning… And if there’s a gift involved the RTM has to accept it.”
“We want to see a public-powered partnership with that auditorium and a good mix so the public can access it… That little strip of Greenwich Avenue is going to come alive and at four o’clock it’ll still be alive. We want things going on there. So, I think we can do it. We’re farther along than we’ve ever been, and we still have a long way to go, but we’re working on it.”
David Weisbrod – BET Chair
David Weisbrod is a 40-years-plus resident of Greenwich, newly chairing the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), now in his fifth term, having earlier chaired the Town’s Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals. Weisbrod also recently served on First Selectman Fred Camillo’s RFP committee to consider ideas for the repurposing of the Havemeyer Building.
“We had a very large outpouring of people that came to the hearing of those proposals,” shared Weisbrod. “There’s a tremendous amount of interest.” But seven proposals for the Havemeyer Building were turned down, including Chuck Royce’s Performing Arts Center idea.
Weisbrod cited the Havemeyer Building as “a prominent site in the heart of Greenwich Avenue, which naturally attracts the attention of all sorts of people in the community, and obviously because of where it’s located, it’s historical significance, the potential uses we can have there attracts a great deal of attention as it should.”
“It’s really up to Fred at this point,” Weisbrod noted, “how he wants to adapt based on what he’s heard from the community.” And “Of course the BET gets called on to determine financial matters as it relates to whatever the proposal is. If the First Selectman proceeds with a project that needs appropriation, then we mobilize. Right now, there’s been no request, so the matter is for the moment at least dormant until the next iteration unfolds.”
“You have to find a solution for the Board of Ed,” he continued, “Where will they go? And then there’s the finances. If you do something that’s commercial, it makes the financial part a little easier. If you do something that’s completely non-commercial, it puts a higher bar on how it’s going to get funded. The Boys and Girls Club is a good example of where philanthropically minded people or the Bruce Museum have invested large amounts of money to wonderful purposes. And so, perhaps that same sort of thing can come to the fore for the Havemeyer. We’ll see how it plays out.”
So, is it a pipe dream to combine perhaps hotel rooms with a performing arts center? He responded, “This town has a lot of creative people, a lot of resources from people who have been supporting the arts and will continue to support the arts. So, I don’t think we should look at any of this as a pipe dream. I think if the community has the will, we have a way to achieve wonderful things. These are all challenges that require leadership, and I think we have leadership with the First Selectman’s initiative, and others that are showing an interest and harnessing that and getting it forward.”
Michael Joseph Mercanti-Anthony – BOE Chair
Michael Joseph Mercanti-Anthony was elected chairman of the Board of Education last November. Having served on the BOE board since 2021, Mercanti-Anthony, a longtime educator, is well aware of the conditions of the BOE headquarters in the Havemeyer Building. He’s unabashed about its condition – “It’s a dump.”
“There have been decades of deferred maintenance in the building,” he continued, “as we’ve rightly prioritized other projects around town to the point now, unfortunately, where it’s not a place that anybody on the staff side wants to work in…The superintendent is eager to relocate her entire staff somewhere else. Should the right opportunity present itself, they’re ready to move… There are certainly better ventilation systems out there and better plumbing, heating and electrical… Everything is pretty shoddy.”
Do his seven BOE board members agree with him? “As chair, I can tell you the board does not have an official position and there is a variety of opinions among the eight board members.” And with four of those as newly elected members, Mercanti-Anthony is “not sure if they are fully up to speed on the situation.”
“There is a diversity of opinion on the board, including probably a few board members that do not want to give up Havemeyer and would want us to stay there. Other board members, including myself see the cost of maintaining that building as a non-starter.”
Mercanti-Anthony is wishing to move the BOE staff elsewhere “in a modern building so that that piece of land, where Havemeyer is, can be reimagined as a community center, as a center point for the whole community. It’s such a misuse of space as it currently is.”
Had Mercanti-Anthony heard of a possible plan for a building to be built for BOE behind Town Hall? Yes, he had but, “I don’t want to speak for them,” he said of his board. He’s aware of one member’s concern “about the school district giving away that Havemeyer asset.” Further concerns include, “There’s been talk of us paying rent someplace, and that in any deal we get 10 years of rent… You don’t want the school administration some place temporarily where after a given amount of time, they’re on the hook for rent and that hits the school budget. There’d be a lot of concern from all of us on the board about a situation that’s less than permanent.”
He spoke again of his wish that the Havemeyer be reimagined as a community center. He told of having a Greenwich friend, opera star and entrepreneur Marcelo Guzzo of Greenwich Opera who’d submitted a letter of recommendation to Camillo’s RFP committee, having spoken to committee members expressing support “for a thoughtful outcome that serves the town long term.” “It certainly gives an example of the kind of people that would be looking for this space to have concerts.”
“There’s just so many organizations of music and dance,” he said. “Think of the Ridgefield Playhouse – that was once an education building. They have things all year round. Paul Newman helped subsidize that back in the day.”
