The new owners of The Inn at Newtown property at 19 Main Street said this week that they plan to renovate the long-closed historic building that stands on the 3.002-acre site and put it back into service a restaurant, bar, lounge, and banquet hall.

The renovated facility also would hold six living spaces that may either be designed as lodgings for temporary stays, or as rental apartments that would have one-year leases, said developer Russell Barton, a member of a group which has purchased the property from the Ryder family.

According to legal papers filed with the Newtown Town Clerk’s office on March 10, DWR Company III, LLC of Vero Beach, Fla., on March 4 sold land and structures at 19 Main Street to a firm known as Newtown 19 Main LLC of Washington, Conn. Barton is doing business as Newtown 19 Main LLC. The sale price was $650,000, according to conveyance tax documents.

The inn, which suddenly closed for business in January 2016, has been the focus of much attention and controversy during the past six months as two developers representing the Ryder family sought Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) approval for a new set of zoning regulations known as the Borough Residential Overlay District (BROD). If approved, the BROD regulations would have allowed a developer to seek approval for a 40-unit rental apartment complex to replace the inn, which would have been demolished.

At public meetings held in late 2019 and early this year, many residents from Main Street and elsewhere strongly objected to the high-density multifamily proposal, saying that such development was out of character with the historic Main Street neighborhood, which is composed mostly of older single-family houses. Many people said the best option for the site would be having a new owner renovate the building and continue its former use.

Some people commenting on the multifamily proposal suggested that such development occur elsewhere in town, but not on Main Street, a thoroughfare with a 100-foot-tall flagpole that has come to symbolize the community.

In mid-January, the developers withdrew their BROD application, saying that they would reconsider their options.

Of Barton’s acquisition of the property, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said March 9, “I think that this is the ‘soft landing’ that everyone was looking for.” The first selectman added, “I think it’s great...I think that we’ll have something that people will be happy with.”

Borough Warden Joseph Maher III said, “I am so very pleased with the efforts of borough and town officials and residents to save this treasure on Main Street.”

BZC Chairman Douglas Nelson said of the proposal to renovate the property and resume its former use, “That’s really about the best news the borough could get.”

Future Plans

Barton said March 10 he plans to renovate the wood-frame structure. He said that the work would amount to physically improving the premises and returning the property to its former status as “a spectacular place that it hasn’t been in a long time.”

Early this week, workers made roofing repairs and removed a wide variety of objects from within the building, which they tossed into dumpsters.

Barton added, “If all goes well, it’ll be open very shortly.” Such a restaurant opening could occur as soon as June, he said. The property needs a thorough cleaning and a repainting, he said.

A renovated property would be constructed on the same “footprint” as the existing structure, he said. A building’s footprint is the ground area that it covers.

After certain specific designs are formulated, the owners will submit applications to borough regulatory agencies concerning a renovation project, Barton said. Reviewing agencies would include the BZC and Borough Historic District Commission.

The property would be subject to the BZC’s Village District (VD) zoning regulations concerning the appearance of buildings, among other zoning rules. Also, the site is within the Borough Historic District and thus subject to the Historic District Commission’s regulations on the appearance of buildings.

“We have a vision here,” Barton said, adding that the restaurant would serve American cuisine. “I want to make sure that the town can support what I put in here,” he said. The business would be run by a chef who would have the option to become an owner/operator, Barton said. “There couldn’t be a better spot for a restaurant,” he noted.

The property is the site of the Mary Hawley Homestead. Hawley was the town’s benefactress. Construction at the site dates back to 1820.

Barton is a member of Newtown Highland LLC, which owns Highland Plaza, a retail complex at 123 South Main Street.

Barton was a member of a development group that bought the former Litchfield County jail in Litchfield from the state in 2014 and converted it into a mixed-use commercial complex, which opened in 2018.