There Might Be a Buyer to Save the Micheels' House in Westport from Demolition

[Read 'Modern,' our new blog about mid-century modern houses, here.]

Apparently a serious buyer has come forward and wants the Micheels' house, in Westport, which was designed by Paul Rudolph. David Waldman, the developer who has a contract to buy the house from Micheels, has agreed to give the new buyer about a week to negotiate a deal. It sounds like a good way out of the mess for everyone -- Micheels, an old man who wants to live out his days in peace near his children, in the Boston area, gets his money; Waldman gets rid of what has become a headache and gets to save face; and the preservationists who think so highly of Rudolph and his modernism, get to see the building saved. As this story has proceeded over several weeks, Waldman has come to seem more and more reasonable, and I give him credit (as if anyone cares) for being willing to change his mind. WestportNow has the details.

I don't know who the buyer is -- the email I got earlier didn't say, nor does WestportNow. But I recall a small flurry of emails a week or so ago that included a real estate broker in Florida who specializes in modern houses and who said she might have a buyer.

[For more on the issue, see The Destruction of Paul Rudolph's Micheels House in the right hand column.]