1 Riverside Road—

A Sandy Hook Landmark Gets A Make-Over

By Kaaren Valenta

Chris and Kathy Mangieri held a party recently and invited the neighborhood. The Mangieris were celebrating the completion of the renovations to 1 Riverside Road, the 19th century brick building that overlooks the intersection in Sandy Hook center.

“It’s a great old building,” Mr Mangieri said. “But it was a wreck when we bought it a year and a half ago.”

The top floor of the building now houses Mangieri Solutions, LLC, a headhunting firm that specializes in marketing personnel.

“I’ve been in business for 10 years, formerly in the Clock Tower Plaza in Monroe,” Mr Mangieri said. “One day I was driving through Sandy Hook and saw the For Sale sign in front of this building. I thought, ‘What a cool old building,’ so I called and learned that there was a bid already on it. I said, ‘Let me know if the bid falls through.’ It did, so we wound up buying it.”

“Len Volpe and Mike Yao at Newtown Savings Bank made the deal work. Without them it wouldn’t have happened,” Mr Mangieri said. “They were great to work with.”

The Mangieris knew the $200,000 purchase price was only a start. But they never envisioned the number of renovations that would be required.

“The porch alone was $60,000,” Mr Mangieri said. “We had to gut everything right down to the studs inside – new ceilings, walls, plumbing, heating, air conditioning. We had to bring everything up to code, so we have a brand new building at this point.”

The renovations enabled the Mangieris to open the second floor ceiling over the staircase, exposing the inside of the cupola, which is now illuminated by interior lighting at night.

The day before the building was to be officially occupied, the couple learned that the original 24-inch high solid cherry spindles on the staircase had to be replaced. Building codes now required 32-inch spindles.

“The original railings were very low,” Kathy Mangieri said. “People obviously were shorter back then  The building was filled with lots of little rooms with toilets and sinks, and a back staircase to a kitchen and fireplace in the basement. “

According to Town Historian Daniel Cruson, the building at 1 Riverside was built for Smith P. Glover who was the owner of the former Red Brick Store and half a dozen other buildings in Sandy Hook. It was a private residence for the Warner family until its conversion into offices a couple of decades ago.

Besides the interior work, the Mangieris found there was a great deal to be done outside. New pillars had to be made for the front porch, and these were crafted to match the originals. The shutters also were replaced, as was all the overgrown landscaping.

“I’d never do it again,” Chris Mangieri admitted cheerfully. “It wouldn’t have been feasible if I hadn’t planned to put my own business here.”

Mangieri Solutions has 10 employees. Kathy Mangieri is the office manager. The couple has two children, Kate, 10, a student at Chalk Hill School in Monroe, and Kyle, 15, who attends Masuk High School.

John Arone and his son, John, of Interstate Coatings in Bridgeport, were the general contractors for the project.  There are four offices for tenants downstairs, some with their own exterior entrances off the parking lot. With 20 years of tenancy, attorneys Caldwell and Lavery have been in the building the longest. Another attorney, Greg Ladestro, who lives in Sandy Hook and has an office in Stamford, opened a satellite office in the building. Mark Gregorie of Sandy Hook also has rented space for his company, Graphic Packing Corp. One tenant, Louis Blanco, is leaving and that small office will be available for rent soon.

 The dark burgundy walls in Mr Mangieri’s office are decorated with prints and old golf clubs that were found in the building basement.

“I wish these walls could talk,” Kathy Mangieri said. “I’m sure they would have a lot of interesting stories to tell.”

 The Mangieris think it would be very nice for their historic building to have a name.  Anyone who has a suggestion may send it to them at Mangieri Solutions, LLC, 1 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06842.