By Gretchen A. Peck

The three-bedroom cottage-style home at 28 Lawton Avenue in Westerly is currently on the market. Located in the beach community of Misquamicut, it is listed by Sales Manager and Broker Lori Joyal with the Lila Delman-Compass brokerage in Watch Hill.

Welcome Home spoke with the owners, Bob and Julie Gorecki, who bought the cottage in 2012 for seasonal getaways with their family. The neighborhood is still popular with summer dwellers, but the owners said that recent years have seen more full-time residents move in and stay. There are also many homes that have been in the same families for generations, they observed.

“We were very blessed,” Mrs. Gorecki said. “It is the best neighborhood, and people told us that when we bought the house. The neighbors are so nice, and we often get together for barbecues.”

When the couple purchased the home, it was being sold “as is” and needed some work. They wanted to retain the charming beach-cottage aesthetic, so their improvements kept that in mind. They added air conditioning and refinished the fir floors. They renovated the two baths, updated the kitchen, put on a new roof and installed new siding.

One of the other transformative projects they took on was building a spacious three-season screened porch off the back of the house. It has plenty of room for both seating and outdoor dining furnishings. The couple said they’d have as many as 15 people in the space at any given time during the summer, enjoying seafood feasts and spirited board games.

They also added a large outdoor shower—a must-have amenity for frequent beachgoers.

The house has 844 square feet of living space, comprising a living room, eat-in kitchen, three bedrooms and two baths. The third bedroom, which steps out to the screened porch could also be used as a family room or perhaps a home office.

Built in 1954, the house is situated on a 0.26-acre property, within walking distance of the Misquamicut State Beach, the Westerly Town Beach, and destinations like the Andrea Seaside Restaurant and Beach Bar.

Mr. Gorecki enjoyed early-morning walks to the beach, where he went fishing for striped bass. The couple often walked to live music events at the beach on Monday and Wednesday evenings during the season. They could bike to Watch Hill, and take the ferry out to Block Island for day trips.

“The casinos aren’t too far away, and Providence is just about 45 minutes from here. Of course, we’re also just two hours to Boston by train, and the train station is five minutes from us,” Mrs. Gorecki noted.

When the family wasn’t able to take advantage of the property during the summer, they were able to rent it out for up to $3,000 a week—making this a compelling proposition for real estate investors, as well.

Misquamicut has a thriving rental economy, thanks to its proximity to towns in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, the listing broker confirmed. Joyal noted that the property will need a new septic system installation within a year of a buyer’s purchase.

The asking price for 28 Lawton Avenue is $915,000. Showings are by appointment only.

Property: 28 Lawton Ave., Westerly

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 2

Square Footage: 844

Acreage: 0.26

Asking Price: $915,000

Listing Agent: Lori Joyal, sales manager and broker, Lila Delman-Compass; Mobile: (401) 742-1225; Office: (401) 348-1999; lori.joyal@liladelman.com