Masons Estates on the horizon in Mystic

The Day — June 30, 2023 12:15 am • Last Updated: June 28, 2023 1:13 pm
l.howard@theday.com

The last large parcel of undeveloped land available on Masons Island in Mystic has been sold to a Stamford company planning a luxury 10-lot subdivision with homes starting at $3.5 million.

Peter A. Giordano of Stonington, managing partner of the Tier 1 building company that will bring the project to fruition, said last week in an interview that 17 inland acres north of School House Road will be used for the new luxury home community to be called Masons Estates. An entity called Masons 17 CT LLC bought the property for $3.9 million this month from the Masons Island Company, according to a press release.

“This is prime property,” said Judi Caracausa, owner of Market Realty, who brokered the private deal. “It’s hard to find 17 acres of land anywhere in Stonington.”

Plans for the development call for five acres of open space and lots of between 1 and 1.3 acres, much bigger than most parcels on Masons Island. Home sizes in a cul-de-sac area to be named Kingfisher Way, near Egret and Cormorant roads, will be a minimum of 3,500 square feet.

Coast to Coast Development Partners LLC of Stamford is the project developer, with principals listed as Paulus and Hans Ingram.

Tier 1 will be the builder for the entire project to ensure consistency and high quality throughout the development, Giordano said, while New England Design in Mansfield will be the development’s architecture firm, unless a buyer has another preference. Caracausa’s firm, Market Realty, will be exclusive listing agent for the properties.

“They will not all be the same style house,” Giordano said, “but they have to be comparable.”

Designs will have to be assessed by an Architectural Review Committee, he added. Amenities are up to the individual homeowner, but expectations are that many will want pools, home offices, outdoor kitchens and other high-end finishes.

Homeowners will be eligible for membership in the Masons Island Yacht Club, though acceptance is not guaranteed, Caracausa said. According to the Masons Island Company website, “The Yacht Club provides facilities and instruction for sailing and small boat racing, swimming, tennis and bocce. There is also an extensive social program and several regattas.”

In 2004, the same property was approved for 21 lots, but the market soon shifted, and those plans were put on hold, Caracausa said. Rufus Allyn, principal of the Masons Island Company, eventually decided to sell the land, though it never went on the open market, she added.

The Masons Island Company was set up in 1912 to manage the development of the approximately 600 acres of property on what Native Americans had called Chippachaug, meaning a separated place. It is named after John Mason, a controversial military figure in the 1637 Pequot War whose family owned the land for several generations.

Builder Giordano, also a developer of high-end properties, said he started his career in corporate finance, but has been working on luxury homes for the past 23 years, including renovations. Local projects have been in places such as Mumford Cove, Essex, Weekapaug and Groton Long Point.

“We don’t go out and do speculative projects,” he said. “We’re looking for clients to reach out and say ‘This is really what we want.’”

Giordano said road clearing on the site will happen almost immediately, since the project has received all necessary approvals. He said eventually trees and brush will be cleared, but for now he wants to leave the land the way it is so buyers can decide which trees to salvage.

“It’s a heavily treed site,” he said. “It’s a dense property right now.”

Caracausa said that while homes of more than $3 million may seem pricey, it’s not outrageous by Masons Island standards, where there is virtually no inventory right now. Other homes there, she pointed out, recently have been valued at over $12 million.

“It’s not the top of the market by any stretch of the imagination,” she said. “People who could live anywhere in the world are moving here.”

For more information about the development, visit www.masonsestatesmystic.com.