Brighton Estates Condominium

The places that we now know as Brighton Estates, Brighton Colony, and Essex Place were once all farmland which was owned by a man named Joe Pirello. His house used to be where Essex Place is currently located. For those of you who are not familiar with Essex Place, these are tri-level condominiums that sit directly in front of Brighton Estates on Edgewood Avenue. You may have mistakenly pulled into their entrance thinking you were pulling into Wintergreen Way.

In the early 1970’s Joe Pirello sold the majority of his farmland to a development company by the name of Stanndco. This company proposed developing the property by building rental units in the far end of the property which is now Brighton Colony and wanted to develop condominiums near the front end of the property which is now Brighton Estates. However, in the mid-1970’s Stanndco ran into some financial trouble so the property was taken over by Central Trust Company, acquired by M&T Bank in 1992. Central Trust completed the construction and were selling the condos as they were being built.  You may find it interesting that the original condominiums did not have patio fences. To entice buyers, Central Trust decided to add the fences, giving unit owners more privacy, and helping with unit sales. Once all the condominium units were sold they were turned over to the association.

On a side note, Joe’s house and a small amount of farmland sat nestled right next to Brighton Estates for many years. Joe would stop neighbors and offer them his vegetables. In the late 1980’s he sold his property to a different developer who built the tri-level condominiums which we know as Essex Place.