‘Whoever is paying for it, it ain’t us.’ Wellfleet didn’t demolish Blasch house. Who did?

Excavators started tearing apart the waterfront house in Wellfleet known as the Blasch house Monday morning, but who was responsible for the demolition wasn’t immediately clear.

An excavator from GFM Excavating, another closer to the house, a Gradall forklift, a portable toilet and pickup trucks were parked around the house on Friday when Wellfleet resident Jeff Boudro hiked out to Great Island. He posted pictures on the Wellfleet Community Facebook Page. Boudro isn’t the only one keeping an eye on the house that is teetering on the edge of collapse. More than 90 people commented.

People wanted to know who was demolishing the house, and more importantly, who was paying for it.

“Whoever is paying for it, it ain’t us,” said Select Board Chair John Wolf in a phone call Monday.

In January, two lawyers for the current owner, New York attorney John Bonomi Jr., said their client would not be spending any more money on the house.

“John Bonomi and CQN Salvage are not spending $1 million-plus to tear down that house,” Thomas Moore, an attorney claiming to represent Bonomi and CQN Salvage, told the Wellfleet Conservation Commission Jan. 15.

Controversial house on edge of Wellfleet beach cliff

The Select Board held an executive session before their regular session on Feb. 18 to discuss the house, Wolf said. He couldn’t share information about the session, but acknowledged that board members knew Cape Associates was potentially involved. He said the board didn’t know a permit had been pulled for the house’s demolition.

Controversy has followed the house since its construction. Past and present owners of the now 5,150-square-foot house overlooking both Cape Cod Bay and Wellfleet Harbor have attempted to save it from the water and wind that have buffeted the slim stretch of sand it sits on. Portions of the house have been removed as erosion ate at land close to the foundation.

Mark and Barbara Blasch had the house built in 2010. Over the years they had sand dumped on the beach in front of the house for protection. They tried and failed to get the town Conservation Commission to approve the construction of a rock revetment. The Blaschs’ appeal was rejected. Attorneys for the Blasch family trust filed suit in Barnstable Superior Court.

In 2021, New York attorney John Bonomi Jr. purchased the house for $5.5 million. The Blasch lawsuit was still pending.

Bonomi and the town have been at odds ever since. At that Jan. 15 Conservation Commission meeting, Bonomi’s attorney James Gallagher said Bonomi had “moved on from the house,” and would not be spending any more money on it.

It’s a matter of time before the house will fall into the sea unless drastic measures to save it are taken.

Town officials have been concerned that if the house fell into the sea, currents would take toxic materials into Wellfleet Harbor and spoil the oyster beds there.

“Regardless of who takes it down, I’m just glad its not going to end up in the ocean,” Boudro said.

Calls to Town Administrator Thomas Guerino, Conservation Agent Lecia McKenna, and Cape Associates weren’t immediately returned Monday.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com . 

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Who demolished Blasch house in Wellfleet? No one is claiming credit.

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