A sketch of the proposed Townshend estate event space.
Weddings, corporate luncheons, and community celebrations could soon be on the queue for the historic Townshend mansion — now that the owners of the East Shore estate have received zoning relief to host events on the property.
Chuck and Marcella Mascola along with Salvatore Marottoli, collectively operating under the title of East Shores LLC, won that permission on Tuesday at the latest meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals, which took place online via Zoom. They received a special exception to use the 1804-built mansion and surrounding property at 701 – 709 Townsend Ave. for hosting up to 150 people.
That approval comes roughly a year and a half after they bought the 26.25-acre former Townshend family home and its surrounding properties for $2.6 million in September 2021.
Nora Grace-Flood photo
Townshend mansion: Now OK'd for hosting special events.
Estate co-owner Chuck Mascola.
“It’s a remarkable building and grounds that almost no one has been able to visit or spend time at for centuries — and we’re gonna change that,” Chuck Mascola told the Independent during a Friday interview.
Mascola said the ground floor of the mansion will serve as a cocktail and reception space for weddings, as a hall for private dining events, and/or as meeting space rented out to everyone from corporate employers to local community groups. The mansion’s second floor will feature bridal and groom suites, though no overnight stays will be permitted on the property.
Mascola said he has yet to set rates at which he and his partners will rent out the property, but said he’ll be looking to charge “at the higher-end of the market.”
“It’s almost a zen-like environment on the grounds,” Mascola pitched. “There are rolling grounds and lawns and specimen trees everywhere. We’re gonna be replanting the vineyard on the property; it’s the perfect place for someone to experience a milestone event in their life.”
No events have been officially scheduled as of yet, as the owners still intend to request a series of site changes from the City Plan Commission to accommodate larger-scale events. For example, Mascola said that parking space for up to 100 cars — perhaps in the form of one large, pervious lot made up of crushed stone or smaller sets of parking spaces scattered across the property —in addition to an enlarged driveway and the introduction of a seasonal outdoor tent are all needed to host larger-scale conferences and celebrations.
While some of those alterations were previewed at Tuesday night’s BZA meeting, all that was formally voted on was the right of the owners to hold events on site.
That zoning relief was foreshadowed by a rezoning of the property — including 701, 709, 725, and 745 Townsend Ave. — adopted by the Board of Alders and City Plan Commission earlier this year. The Marscolas worked with local land-use attorney Marjorie Shansky to define a new “special heritage mixed use zoning district” that would override the area’s previous residential zoning status to allow for more flexible design standards as well as commercial use of the space by special exception, such as the one granted by the BZA on Tuesday. As part of that same rezoning process, the current owners also talked about plans to construct roughly 50 new homes on the property behind the historic mansion.
Mascola said he’s hoping to get all the appropriate approvals from the city in the coming months and start booking events by July of this summer.
While some East Shore residents, such as Gail Martino, expressed concern on Tuesday night about too much noise generated from wedding parties cramping their right to a good night’s rest, that zoning overall also laid out regulations governing the operations of any private events, mandating the cessation of live music by 10 p.m. and requiring outdoor functions to wrap up by 11 p.m., for example.
In addition to private events, Mascola said the idea is to open up the property to the public on occasion for neighborhood walks or parties.
“We’re not opening up a city park,” he qualified. “It’s been private property for 220 years and it’s still private property. But we’re certainly gonna have a lot more accessibility than there ever has been.”