DARIEN, Conn. Calling Penny Glassmeyer a developer is like saying Michelangelo was OK with a paintbrush. Glassmeyer, who has been active in real estate development in Darien for more than two decades, doesn't just put up buildings, she creates environments.
Her latest might be the most successful yet. The complex at Grove Street combines retail and residential spaces seamlessly and gracefully, centered on a courtyard and fountain that belongs in Tuscany more than downtown Darien.
Glassmeyer, who had built many houses in Darien, purchased four small parcels nestled between the Post Road and railroad station parking lots during the late '90s. Ray Nurmi, the town zoning commissioner at the time, encouraged her to "do something special" and the results are just that.
The idea came when Bob Maslan, a zoning lawyer, discovered a three-story building is allowed when that including a public plaza is included in the plans. Glassmeyer's architect, Do Chung, came up with the concept of breaking up the facade to make the large building look like three smaller ones. Construction began in 2004. The area has become a popular gathering space in a town whose retail offering seems to be stuck to the Post Road. "We're only a block off of that, and yet you're barely aware of the traffic," Glassmeyer said. She was seated in the sunny plaza with adults drinking coffee and eating pastries nearby while children played around and sometimes in the fountain.
"The idea for the fountain came from one I saw in Deer Valley, Utah," Glassmeyer said. "It runs year-round, and in the winter the downspouts get covered in huge beards of ice." Also adding a unique ambience is the gaslight illumination, which made the plaza a rare beacon of light during the recent post-Irene blackout.
The ground floor houses a restaurant, coffee shop and exercise studio, while the upper floors furnish 10 residential units. "We super-insulated them to keep out the noise from the trains, and no tenant has ever complained about it being too loud," Glassmeyer said.
Her next project is no less ambitious: a complex of upscale condos on Academy Road. "They'll be perfect for people looking to downsize but wanting to stay in Darien."
Have you ever spent time at the Grove Street plaza?
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