Danbury's Octagon House Failing

Visitors to the abandoned Octagon House at 21 Spring St., find Dubra Vodka bottles not Kettle One discards outside the eight-sided house built before the Civil War.

Danbury's Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team is fighting what appears to be a losing battle to keep squatters from setting up house in the historic building.

In one case, the UNIT installed plywood over a broken door to seal the building. The next time they visited, they discovered someone had removed the plywood, cut it to shape, attached it to hinges, added a lock, and made a new door. The UNIT screwed the door into the walls, blocking access.

A third of the windows were open Tuesday, and people could move in and out at will without even the benefit of a door. Several doors are boarded up, and the failing gutters are splashing water on the walls and porches, causing swollen wood and peeling paint. No maintenance is being done.

The owner of record is listed at the Town Clerk's office as Jose Nunez, who bought the building in April 2004 for $246,000. The mortgage has shifted from bank to bank to bank since then. Shawn Stillman, who runs the UNIT, said the owner has moved out of the country and no longer responds to requests for help. The property is in foreclosure, and the UNIT issued orders to the current lien holder, Bayview Loan Servicing of Coral Gables, FL, asking for help securing the property.

The house is full of garbage, the yard is awash in garbage and the house smells of human feces.

"It's a disheartening feeling to know we have no control over it," said Rich Antous, who works on downtown Danbury blight issues for the UNIT. Stillman and Antous said the Octagon house is being used for sex, drugs and drinking by a population of hard-core Danbury homeless residents. 

Bridget Guertin, executive director of the Danbury Historic Society and Museum, said the Octagon House is a, "remarkable historic building that the city is spending money on to save."

Guertin was referring to the UNIT's efforts to keep people from moving in. Both she and the UNIT fear someone will burn down the 1853 building in an attempt to stay warm in the winter.

For a fascinating tale about the Octagon House's history in Danbury, told in part by former residents, read Rick Gottschalk's take on it from 2011 on Danbury Patch.

 "We would love to see that building renovated and restored to its original grandeur," Guertin said. "It's a fire hazard. Because it is still with us, there is still hope."

The Jericho Partnership, an affiliation of religious organization and sponsors, has created a Spring Street Ministry to help the neighborhood. That work includes running a neighborhood day camp that 50 children attend, it includes a Clean Streets group, senior citizen outreach, a food pantry and a clothes pantry.

"I see change. It's incremental," said Jim Wiley, the ministry coordinator at the Jericho Partnership's Spring Street facility. "Something is happening. Change is coming about."

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said the city will complete a second phase of sidewalk repairs on Spring Street this summer. The city and Jericho are working together on improving the neighborhood. A third of the street's sidewalks were repaired in 2012, and lighting improvements are also on the drawing boards.

Boughton said the city isn't in the business of buying private homes to restore them. He suggested a private/public partnership might be possible with the right developer who wanted to rent the Octagon house out as apartments.