AURORA - The newly remodeled Aurora Inn may not be the only lodging American Girl Doll founder Pleasant T. Rowland will be associated with in this lakeside community.
Rowland would like to open a bed & breakfast in a century-old mansion at 453 Main St., several hundred feet from the inn that opened in the spring. She purchased the three-story Queen Anne-style home for $1.1 million in 2001 from the David M. Abbott estate. The home, which has more than 30 rooms, is assessed at $291,600.
The B&B proposal will be the subject of a public hearing and planning board meeting, 7 p.m., Wednesday in the village offices in the fire department, across from the mansion. The planning board must sign off on the project before it can go forward
Saying it was still in the initial stages, Katie Waller, executive director of the Aurora Foundation, said Monday Rowland initiated the project a few weeks ago. It has nothing to do with the Aurora Foundation, the group Rowland formed with Wells College to complete the inn's renovation and several other projects in and around the village.
"We just think it would make a lovely B&B," said Waller, who has lived in the Abbott house for more than two years.
It would be the first B&B in the village, although King Ferry antique dealer Bill Heary opened one this spring up the road on Route 90 in Ledyard.
However, Waller said, she would wait until Wednesday's meeting to release details of the project, except to say sketches of several options will be presented to planners at the meeting. She wouldn't talk about such issues as the number of bedrooms that would be used for the bed and breakfast, how many employees would work there and whether the mansion would undergo a major renovation.
While it's not one the village's oldest homes, the Abbott home is still a prominent property noted for its horseshoe driveway, wrap-around porch, underground bomb shelter and third-floor ballroom with a spring floor to handle the dancing.
It was built in 1902-03 by Alonzo Zabriskie, a grandson of business tycoon E.B. Morgan, for him and his bride, Belle Loader of St. Louis.
Abbott, a wealthy Ithaca developer who died in 2000, purchased it in 1967 as his retirement home. The millionaire was known for getting whisked away in a helicopter from his yard.
"He was seen taking care of his yard and mowing his grass," said village historian Sheila Edmunds.
Debbie Brooks, former tenant of another Aurora Foundation building, was surprised to hear about the B&B.
"Nobody knew about this. I'm just kind of waiting to see what happens Wednesday," she said. "It's quite a place."
Brooks also wants to know if Rowland decided to turn the mansion into a B&B because the inn lost four of its 14 rooms when it major reconstruction was finished in the spring.
Karen Hindenlang, a member of a group opposed to the inn project, urged residents to attend Wednesday's public hearing, since Rowland never indicated how the property would be used until now.
"We want them to ask questions," Hindenlang said.
The planning board needs to approve a special permit to allow the B&B, village officials said.
Planners would determine the maximum number of rooms it would have after considering the size the mansion.
According to village zoning laws and state building codes, B&Bs must contain at least three and no more than five bedrooms.
Considered "a home occupation" or family business, only the owner, the immediate family and one employee can live in a B&B, according to village zoning laws.
Waller wouldn't comment on whether Rowland will live there. Rowland, a Wells alumnus, purchased the house as a residence whenever she was in town for business.
Rowland is also renovating the old Leffingwell House, which will eventually be used as her Aurora home. It has no timetable for completion, Waller said.
Working with Wells College, the foundation has purchased all but a handful of the village's commercial property. The Heary Building, a former post office and school where Brooks had her shop, and the French House, another lakeside mansion, are among projects to be completed by the foundation. Dorie's Ice Cream shop, the Fargo restaurant and a small market have been finished.
The B&B proposal will be the subject of a public hearing and planning board meeting, 7 p.m., Wednesday in the village offices in the fire department, across from the mansion. The planning board must sign off on the project before it can go forward
Saying it was still in the initial stages, Katie Waller, executive director of the Aurora Foundation, said Monday Rowland initiated the project a few weeks ago. It has nothing to do with the Aurora Foundation, the group Rowland formed with Wells College to complete the inn's renovation and several other projects in and around the village.
"We just think it would make a lovely B&B," said Waller, who has lived in the Abbott house for more than two years.
It would be the first B&B in the village, although King Ferry antique dealer Bill Heary opened one this spring up the road on Route 90 in Ledyard.
However, Waller said, she would wait until Wednesday's meeting to release details of the project, except to say sketches of several options will be presented to planners at the meeting. She wouldn't talk about such issues as the number of bedrooms that would be used for the bed and breakfast, how many employees would work there and whether the mansion would undergo a major renovation.
While it's not one the village's oldest homes, the Abbott home is still a prominent property noted for its horseshoe driveway, wrap-around porch, underground bomb shelter and third-floor ballroom with a spring floor to handle the dancing.
It was built in 1902-03 by Alonzo Zabriskie, a grandson of business tycoon E.B. Morgan, for him and his bride, Belle Loader of St. Louis.
Abbott, a wealthy Ithaca developer who died in 2000, purchased it in 1967 as his retirement home. The millionaire was known for getting whisked away in a helicopter from his yard.
"He was seen taking care of his yard and mowing his grass," said village historian Sheila Edmunds.
Debbie Brooks, former tenant of another Aurora Foundation building, was surprised to hear about the B&B.
"Nobody knew about this. I'm just kind of waiting to see what happens Wednesday," she said. "It's quite a place."
Brooks also wants to know if Rowland decided to turn the mansion into a B&B because the inn lost four of its 14 rooms when it major reconstruction was finished in the spring.
Karen Hindenlang, a member of a group opposed to the inn project, urged residents to attend Wednesday's public hearing, since Rowland never indicated how the property would be used until now.
"We want them to ask questions," Hindenlang said.
The planning board needs to approve a special permit to allow the B&B, village officials said.
Planners would determine the maximum number of rooms it would have after considering the size the mansion.
According to village zoning laws and state building codes, B&Bs must contain at least three and no more than five bedrooms.
Considered "a home occupation" or family business, only the owner, the immediate family and one employee can live in a B&B, according to village zoning laws.
Waller wouldn't comment on whether Rowland will live there. Rowland, a Wells alumnus, purchased the house as a residence whenever she was in town for business.
Rowland is also renovating the old Leffingwell House, which will eventually be used as her Aurora home. It has no timetable for completion, Waller said.
Working with Wells College, the foundation has purchased all but a handful of the village's commercial property. The Heary Building, a former post office and school where Brooks had her shop, and the French House, another lakeside mansion, are among projects to be completed by the foundation. Dorie's Ice Cream shop, the Fargo restaurant and a small market have been finished.
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