Health-care business, and its owners, move into depot

CORNWALL — The 1890 West Cornwall train station has been sold, with plans for it to continue as a residence, and to gain an addition of a business office.

The July 8 closing came after about a year and a half on the market. The difficulty in selling probably had to do as much with the uniqueness of the property as a depressed market.

“It is a unique building that needed just the right owner,� said Priscilla Miller, who brokered the sale for Bain Real Estate. “There was a lot of interest, but no one could seem to make a sale work.�

The property was put up for sale by owners Elvira and Donald Hart in March 2008.

“We start by looking at comparable buildings, but there really isn’t much to compare it to,� Miller said of determining an asking price for the property. “The Cornwall Bridge depot sold four years ago for $380,000. But that was four years ago.�

The property was appraised by the town at the time for $347,000. An asking price of $350,000 seemed like it would be very attractive.

Much of the historic building’s value comes from renovations made about 25 years ago by the Harts. They stumbled upon the vacant depot in 1981, on a weekend jaunt from Manhattan in search of old railroad stations to photograph. They had no intention of buying one — until they fell in love with the dilapidated one here in the center of the village, steps away from the river and the Covered Bridge.

The couple paid the Pennsylvania Railroad Company $17,500 for a drafty waiting room, ticket office and half bath. Five years later, the old gray siding was painted red and local carpenter Kenny Whitman had transformed it into a two-story home with 3,800 square feet of living space and lots of restored but authentic charm.

But still it did not sell. At the beginning of this year, the price was dropped to $250,000.

In February, Janet Carlson and John Sanders of Brooklyn made an offer.

They discovered that it falls into the category of West Cornwall properties with issues of tiny lots versus new septic requirements. It took some time to get the health district and financing from a bank to be on the same page as far as meeting a wish list for renovations that includes a third bedroom.

The final selling price was $235,000.

The Sanders family plans to live on the second floor. The first floor, including the former Little Guild Benefit Shop space, will be converted into offices for their company, One Eleven Interactive Inc. They have four employees.

The company was formed eight years ago. The couple (Janet is CEO, John is CFO) and their staff left careers in the pharmaceutical and health-care industries, and are now applying that expertise to an Internet-based connection between the pharmaceutical industry and health-care providers and consumers.

The company’s ultimate mission is stated in part on its Web site as “to put treatments and vaccines in the hands of consumers who need them.�

Janet Carlson told The Journal they are looking forward to the move to Cornwall. (They own acreage in Sharon and are familiar with the area.)

“It’s not only an exciting time for our family, but for the business as well. Part of the team is moving up next week and some of the team will still be based in Brooklyn. We’ll also be doing some hiring for the Cornwall office.�

Carlson said the company has come up with a way to eliminate one of the causes of the high cost of health care: the pharmaceutical company representatives, from whom doctors traditionally buy medicines and vaccines.

“If we can put information and ordering capability on a  doctor’s hips via Smart Phones, that would represent a huge savings,â€� Carlson said. “This has the potential to be a big part of health care reform.â€�

The Carlson-Sanders family includes four-year old twins, Harry and Ellie, and two cats, a boy and a girl as well, from the same litter, which Carlson likes to call twins, too.