Gone! Luxury Wellfleet Home in Danger of Collapsing Into Cape Cod Bay Is Demolished

A luxury home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, in danger of tumbling down a bluff into Cape Cod Bay is being demolished.

The potential collapse of the $5.5 million structure threatened oyster beds in the nearby Wellfleet Harbor. The home was virtually teetering on the edge of an eroded sandy bluff. After months of dispute over who would be responsible for its removal, heavy equipment arrived on the property on Monday, Feb. 24, to dismantle the structure, piece by piece, with trucks hauling away the debris. By Tuesday, Feb. 25, all that remained was the home's concrete slab, chimney, and a generator.

“On one side, it is sad because it was a beautiful house that became a landmark in that place," said John Cobler, a member of the Wellfleet Environmental Commission, in an interview with NBC10 News Boston. “On the other, I am happy that it is gone. It is a great relief for our town and for our environment.”

Cobler confirmed that attorneys for the home's owner, John Bonomi, filed a request with the town of Wellfleet during the week of Feb. 17 to remove the structure. An attorney for Bonomi declined a request to comment for the media.

The house was built in 2010 on the bay side of the Cape Cod peninsula. When it was constructed, the home's original owners sought permission to build a seawall around the property to prevent erosion. Wellfleet's environmental commission rejected the request, citing unintended effects on the surrounding beach and the impact on water sources that carry nutrients into the bay.

In 2019, Bonomi, a New York attorney, bought the home, despite the significant impacts that erosion was having at the site. A report prepared for the Wellfleet commission last year indicated the home would ultimately tumble down the wind-eroded bluff within three years. Its collapse would send harmful debris into the harbor, where shellfish farmers cultivate the town's signature oysters.

According to the NBC10 News report, in January, an attorney for Bonomi told the commission that the home had been sold to a salvage company that refused to pay for the home's demolition. However, the town's conservation agent confirmed at the time that no transfer of deed had been recorded, which was reaffirmed during a check of public records on Tuesday, Feb. 25.