Date: Fri 13-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

business-Sandy-Hook

Full Text:

Working To Put The "Center" Back In Sandy Hook

(with photos)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Ronnie Provenzano used to drive through Sandy Hook Center and think

nostalgically about the years his grandfather, father, and uncle operated

barber shops there.

Mr Provenzano, 36, had followed tradition, also becoming a barber, and he

worked for his father, Paul, at Paul's Hair Cutters in the north end of

Bridgeport. But the day that he drove through Sandy Hook Center and saw the

renovations taking place there, he knew it was time for the Provenzanos to

come back.

"My grandfather, Paul, Sr, started the Sandy Hook Barber Shop in 1930-31 in

this very spot," Mr Provenzano said, glancing around the inside of the shop

that opened recently at 115 Church Hill Road. "My father and my uncle, John,

joined him in the business."

When Paul, Sr retired in the late 1970s, his son John opened John's Barber

Shop across the street; Paul, Jr opened his own shop in Bridgeport. When John

died in 1986, his son took over the shop in Sandy Hook, and operated it until

three years ago, when it closed.

"I always drove by, paying my respect to my uncle," Ronnie Provenzano said. "I

almost fell out of my chair when I saw this," he said in reference to his

chance to reopen the Sandy Hook Barber Shop.

Inside the shop are antique barber chairs, some from the Provenzano family,

including one for children that resembles a tractor, complete with steering

wheel. The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday with Paul Provenzano, 67,

helping his son on Wednesdays and Fridays.

In the other half of the building, the location nearest the river, Jeff and

Neal Laczko are completing renovations and plan to open their new business,

The River Cone, within the next few weeks.

"Besides ice cream, we're going to have coffee, espresso, Danish pastries,

pies, hot dogs -- something for everyone," Mr Laczko said as he wielded a

paintbrush on a recent afternoon.

The restoration of the building, and that of the two others next door, is the

realization of a vision by contractor Mike Porco and his partnership, MISTI,

LLC, which bought the three buildings from the Milot family estate last year.

"I'm trying to bring the three buildings back to a vintage look, using the old

photos in [Daniel Cruson's Images of America: Newtown ] so they look like they

did years ago," Mr Porco said. "The objective is that other property owners

here will follow suit."

"Sandy Hook Center used to be part of a town, with more of a town center than

Newtown has," he said. "I thought that maybe I can make it happen again."

The first step Mr Porco took was to address the parking issue. He elevated the

back of the lot, building a stone retaining wall along the river, and created

a spacious parking lot. He added a large deck on the rear of the building that

houses The River Cone and the Sandy Hook Barber Shop, providing convenient

rear access as well as a place to sit and eat while enjoying the view of the

river below.

Then he turned his attention to the building next door, which had suffered

significant deterioration over the years, but had once housed businesses like

the Golden Peach ice cream parlor around the turn of the century.

"I was going to tear it down," Mr Porco said. "But I changed my mind because

it is structurally very sound. It has post and beam construction and didn't

have a lot of rot. The original soffits are still there under the roof line.

I'm going to restore the front porch and balcony just as it used to be."

A number of businesses, including a craft shop and home decor business, have

expressed an interest in renting the first floor of the building. Upstairs is

an apartment for short-term rentals.

"There is a need for a place for people to stay while their own house is being

finished or renovated," Mr Porco explained.

The building next door, which in the past 10 years housed such businesses as

Don's Rent-All and a tack shop, is known for having been the site of the

Corbett and Crowe drug store for many decades. Mr Porco said that while

extensive work was required on the inside of the building, the exterior was in

better shape, requiring some repair and a new paint job.

There are plans for a gazebo to be installed in the grassy area between the

two buildings.

"I think when all is said and done it will be a cute little center," Mr Porco

said. "A village shouldn't be a concept of a sprawling community. It is close

and tight, like what you see in Westport. But doing this has required a lot of

time, money and -- what do you call it -- tenacity? When buildings were

constructed in the 1800s, there is no way you can bring them completely to

today's codes."

"The town has been really great in working with me," he said. "Everyone in the

building and P&Z departments has been very supportive."

In late summer or early fall Mr Porco and the merchants plan to hold Sandy

Hook Day, a celebration of the revitalization of the village center. There

will be a band in the gazebo, clowns, and other festivities, he said.

Across the street, builder Michael Burton has been sprucing up the strip of

stores formerly known as K's Korner and has sought town approval for

construction of a building that would house a laundromat.

Bill McCallister, partner in the Connecticut Insurance Agency at 1 Glen Road

and acting president of the Sandy Hook Organization For Prosperity (SHOP),

said a handful of changes to the town's land-use regulations has helped pave

the way for the positive momentum in Sandy Hook. The creation of a sub-zone

within the town's regular zoning allowed for more flexibility, including

second-floor residential housing. Zone changes also made it easier for

applications to be approved, allowing business owners to share each other's

parking in order to meet the minimum required parking spaces.

SHOP is currently working with the Economic Development Commission (EDC) to

persuade the town to extend its public water line into Sandy Hook. Sewers were

installed as part of the town's recently completed wastewater treatment

project.