Mystic — The iconic Perkins Farm homestead was torn down Monday, one of the first concrete signs of the coming construction of a large medical and residential campus planned for the property.

The 216-year-old house at Jerry Browne and Pequotsepos roads had fallen into disrepair over the past 20 years, with broken windows, a sagging porch roof and eaves, a boarded-up front door and missing clapboards. The home also had water damage from exposure to the weather.

News of the demolition posted Monday on the Stonington Community Forum Facebook page generated 78 comments from residents, many who lamented its demise.

“That was so sad to see, a beautiful part of this town. Gone within minutes,” Koren Moran wrote.

That was followed by this from Carol Shakeshaft Canova: “I sat at the intersection on my way home and just stared. I remember cows on both sides of that road before there was a stop sign. And horses down where the deer graze now. A little teary.”

Posters reminisced about driving past the home every day, how it appeared many years ago with cows and flowers. The eerie appearance of the home over the years also had prompted stories of ghosts.

Some posters said they wished it could have been restored.

In 2004 and 2011, developer David Lattizori tried that, offering to give the home to anyone who could remove it from the property and preserve it. While there was some initial interest, there ended up being no takers.

Lattizori said Tuesday that he regretted having to tear down the house but said it had fallen into disrepair the past 30 years and it had become structurally unsound. He said the cost of renovations would have exceeded the value of the home. He said multiple people looked into restoring the house but decided not to go forward after investigating the scope of the work needed.

In January, the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission approved a master plan for the project that calls for developing half of 71 acres into a medical and academic campus with apartments and condominiums. The rest would remain open space. The project would become the town’s largest taxpayer, generating an estimated $1.3 million a year in tax revenue and creating several hundred jobs.

The commission already had approved a floating zone for the property and Lattizori now needs the commission to approve a site plan.

Lattizori said utilities are being brought into the property. He said he plans to submit a site plan soon and hopes to receive approval this summer. That would allow him to break ground on the residential portion of the project later this year. He said that, over the past few months, he has talked with a number of potential tenants for the medical portion of the project. 

j.wojtas@theday.com