David Genovese of Baywater Properties and Penny Glassmeyer of PG Properties Ltd. Partnership will talk about the commercial real estate projects that have created the “New Darien”.
Penny Glassmeyer established herself as a builder well before PG Properties first became an entity in 1987. Penny supervised her very first project in 1979, the renovation of a five family converted Victorian house which she still owns. Three of the current tenants have made 22 Berkeley Street in Norwalk their permanent home for 25, 18 and 11 years.
Her success at Berkeley Street led Penny to her next project In 1982. With government financing, Penny purchased and restored an eight-family low income house. She followed this with the acquisition of two neighboring properties over the next five years – a four family and a five family structure. Penny renovated each building, one at a time. When the last renovation was completed she purchased the house across the street which, because it did not have “classic bones”, she tore down and replaced with a six-unit condominium building.
The quality of her finished projects and the extensive attention to detail that she exhibited in her work projected Penny Glassmeyer into the high-end residential market. Penny formed PG Properties in 1987 and she built her first single-family home, a five bedroom with an elevator. Each year after that, Penny proceeded to purchase a tear-down property and then would build a new home which reflected the look and style of the original structure but with all the modern conveniences. She has built thirteen homes in Darien and one in New Canaan.
The year 2000 signaled change and Penny transitioned smoothly into commercial work for the first time. It was a natural move for her because it meant, among other things, that she would be able to give something back to the community that she was so intimately a part of. She began by restoring several downtown Darien retail/office buildings and then in 2003 Penny developed the much lauded Grove Street Plaza which is home to 10 luxury apartments, two retail stores, a restaurant and a public plaza with a fountain which operates year round. This project was a catalyst in spurring more much needed development in downtown Darien. In June 2010 Penny was recognized and celebrated by her community when she was selected as one of five women to receive the “Woman of Distinction Award”, an honor established by the Darien/Norwalk CT YWCA for women who have made significant contributions to the Darien and Norwalk communities.
Penny has a Business/Math B.S. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and has lived in Darien since 1968. She has also built eight single family homes in Sun Valley, Idaho where in 1997 she was presented with the city’s Beautification Award.
R. David Genovese founded Baywater Properties in 2001, following a 12-year career in real estate investment banking in New York and London. Prior to founding Baywater, David served as Deputy Head of Real Estate Investment Banking for Credit Suisse First Boston. Previously, David served as a Managing Director in Bankers Trust Company’s Real Estate Investment Banking Group. Through the course of his career in investment banking, David was responsible for a variety of transactions valued in excess of $15.0 billion, including mergers and acquisitions, equity offerings, bond offerings, securitized financings, bank loans, and principal investments. David is an honors graduate of Colby College and The London School of Economics and Political Science. David also received an MBA from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. David is currently a member of the Human Services Council of Norwalk, and a Senior Advisor to the Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk. David has served as a member of the Board of Overseers of Colby College, and as a board member of the Darien Technology Foundation, the Darien YMCA, Wee Burn Country Club, the Darien Historical Society, Darien Revitalization, Inc. and the Real Estate Finance Association of Connecticut. In 2007, David was named as one of the “40 under 40” business leaders in Fairfield County, Connecticut. A 1985 graduate of Darien High School, David lives in Darien with his wife, Julie, and their four children.
Arranged by Alex Garnett