08/24/2026
THE BLACK SWAN’S MISFORTUNE, A MINI-HISTORY
After six owners, five decades, and four name changes, the Black Swan marina property on Ferry Road has seen its share of financial misfortune. In 1972, a developer named George Santry from New Canaan wanted to transform Ferry Point --- and he set out to build the Black Swan riverfront marina complex. He was aware that just two miles downriver, the Terra Mar marina complex was struggling to survive financially (it would declare bankruptcy in 1978). But George Santry was convinced he had a better idea. Instead of a seasonal marina combined with a seasonal hotel like the Terra Mar, he would build a marina with a year-round retail complex, including a yacht club, swimming pool, shops, offices, conference rooms and restaurants. The year-round revenue generated by the retail complex would make the seasonal marina more cost effective and less reliant on summer-only boating revenue.
Unfortunately, Santry’s grand plan failed to deliver the anticipated revenue, and he sold the entire complex in 1975, just three years after completion. Developers Thomas Kelly and Robert Daley of Meriden bought the complex. The Black Swan Marina Shop Owners Association was then formed to maximize the year-round retail revenue. They hired Restaurants Associates, of New York City, managers of famous New York eateries such as Zum Zum, Mamma Leone’s, Charlie Brown’s and Brasserie. But once again, the master plan failed financially, and the complex was sold again two years later in 1977. (The financial failure mirrored that of the Terra Mar on Saybrook Point, which finally declared bankruptcy in 1978.)
By 1978, the new Black Swan owners were Maurice Kenny of Glastonbury and E. Clayton Gengras of Fenwick. They had even bigger year-round plans for the complex. They proposed building a four-story complex of condominiums to replace the ill-fated retail complex. But they had to get town zoning changed from marine commercial to residential and they failed to get that change. Kenny and Gengras tried again, by downsizing their large-scale condo plan, but again the town refused to approve the zoning change.
In 1981 Kenny and Gengras gave up and sold the shuttered Black Swan to developers Frank Pascarella and Jim Mezzanotte, who changed the Black Swan name to River Landing. They renovated the dilapidated mall complex, enlarged the marina dockage and basically returned to a business plan similar to the original 1972 plan of George Santry. They planned year-round services, boat storage, fuel, repairs, yacht brokerages, restaurants, an ice cream parlor, hair salon, women’s and men’s apparel shops, “everything designed for the boater.” But just like their predecessors, they too struggled financially. They were not only delinquent in paying town taxes, but they were also sued by the state for not complying with regs for DEP wastewater treatment. Ultimately, they defaulted on their mortgage.
In 1998, Between-The-Bridges LLC, headquartered in Weathersfield, took ownership of River Landing by agreeing to pay almost $1 million in delinquent taxes. The principals of Between-the-Bridges were William DiBella, former state majority leader, and his partner Anthony D. Autorino.
Around 2010, DiBella and Autorino proposed hotel and banquet facilities on the water, with condominiums across the street, similar to what Lou Tagliatela got approved for the Saybrook Point Resort and Marina. They requested rezoning from marine commercial to a “Saybrook-Point-District” zone. But their request was denied by the town. The hotel/condo plan was then revised and resubmitted as a 100% condominium complex under the umbrella of Connecticut’s Affordable Housing Statute (8-30g) This statute finally garnered Between-The-Bridges permission to build. But the plan was never built due to lack of financing, and the retail complex once again fell into disrepair, with fewer and fewer retail tenants.
By 2024, the complex was empty and condemned as structurally unsound. The property was then bought by local resident, Rives Potts. Potts, a noted world-class sailor, was also the CEO of Safe Harbor Marinas, a nationwide operator of marinas. The property was renamed Ferry Landing. His son, Walker Potts, now manages the property with plans to retry the earlier business model --- making the property not only a working boatyard but also a lively boating community, with dining, a pool, clubhouse, playgrounds, and social spaces, but no condominiums. Perhaps after six owners, five decades, and four name changes, he will succeed where others have not.
