Tupelo Mansion Demo'd; New Construction Starts Soon

members on Wednesday approved an oceanfront property owner’s plans to construct a pool within 100 feet of the coastal bank. 

At Wednesday's meeting, Salem engineer Scott Patrowicz represented Thomas Kostinden, who will be living at the 60 Tupelo Road address once the new home is constructed.

The previous home, a tile-roofed mansion built in 1920, was recently demolished.

The property is now piled with rubble but if good weather holds, construction on the new home could start in two to three weeks, the engineer said.

The pool needed the Conservation Commission’s approval because the pool will be so close to the ocean.

The project, an 8-foot-deep infinity pool, may or may not include a pool house, Patrowicz said.

Infinity pools have no containment lip or raised edge. The water spills over the edge and is channeled back to the pool. This gives the pool the appearance of extending to the horizon — the infinity look, the engineer said.

Nearby, on the lawn, part of the 12,000-square-foot scope of work, will stand a series of terraces, well-draining soil and rain gardens to collect and absorb water before it reaches the ocean.

Patrowicz will take up fencing and other matters with the town building inspector.

Earlier, the home construction project was tied up in land court over disputes — including the size of the home — with neighbors.

Late last year the case was dismissed.

The owner bought the 1920 house in 2007 for $3.15 million.

The property’s land is .85 of an acre.

Tupelo Road is located off Puritan Road and runs parallel to Galloupes Point Road.