How luxury home builder RB Benson brings people together at home and overseas
Founded in 1981 by Rick Benson, RB Benson & Co (RB Benson) initially built multifamily projects. By 1991 the business shifted its focus to luxury single family homes. Rick discusses the transition: “After many changes to tax laws and zoning regulations in area towns it became difficult to continue constructing multifamily. As such, we shifted to focus primarily on single family luxury homes in Westport, Connecticut, and its neighboring towns. Along the way we have also renovated churches, commercial buildings and won several awards for our outstanding development and community involvement in Westport.”
Operating in Westport, a community on the coast that is already very built up presents some challenges but also unique opportunities as Rick explains: “There hasn’t been a lot of raw land available, so over the years I’ve bought several of the few farms that have gone up for sale. We subdivided them into small communities comprised of three to six homes. We’ve also done a number of teardowns of post-World War II houses that weren’t built to the highest standards. As such, we’ll build new homes to the specifications our clients are looking for today.
“We’re also,” Rick continues, “about to start a project for a client which is down by Compo Beach. Given that we are in a flood zone and occasionally have hurricanes passing through, many homes need elevating to comply with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulations. We’ve lifted a number of houses to make them compliant and depending on the construction this often requires a full renovation and sometimes even a total rebuild.”
Award-winning construction
One of the business’ recent successes in Westport is Authors Way. Rick provides some context: “It’s a unique four-and-a-half-acre property near the center of the town with a storied history. It was owned by A. E. Hotchner who was a good friend and biographer of Ernest Hemmingway. He was also close to Paul Newman and helped create Newman’s Own Foods and their Foundation. It has a very rich heritage which the name Authors Way nods to, so it was quite a coup to get the property.
“The original house was built in the early 1900s and when A. E. Hotchner died at the age of 102 the house had already been falling into disrepair for 20 years or so. We ended up demolishing the house, putting in a new road and building four beautiful new luxury homes. Much of this happened during Covid so it attracted a lot of families from New York who wanted more space and were drawn to our school system, the beaches and everything that Westport, Connecticut, has to offer. It has become a charming, small community. The first house we built there was recognized by HOBI (Home Building Industry) as the Best $4M Custom Home in Connecticut in 2023. The entire subdivision has also been recognized as the Best Pocket Community in the state by the 2024 HOBI Awards.”
Community legacy
An example of RB Benson over-delivering a project with challenging objectives is the renovation and transformation of his local church. Rick details the process:
“Greens Farms Congregational Church is the oldest colonial era church in Westport. The congregation dates back as far as 1711, but when the British arrived in 1779 the church was burned down. It was rebuilt in 1789 and lasted until being hit by lightning in 1849. The current church was then built on the same site. Over the years, there was hurricane damage that started to threaten the steeple. When we took on the renovation the congregation wanted a new organ, to rearrange the position of the choir, to create a first-floor fellowship space, and bring the building up to current fire code. This was easier said than done. It required removing the whole front and back of the church and roofing over a former exterior memorial garden, installing new code compliant stairs, stair lifts, and a fire sprinkler system. Due to the historic nature of the structure, and a complete lack of existing floor plans, the project ended up being a ‘design-build’, where we were designing as we progressed.
“We restored the original colonial architecture, rebuilt the stained-glass window and the ceiling of the sanctuary. All new wiring went in as well as new HVAC systems, and the courtyard was incorporated into the building next to the sanctuary. There were new bathrooms as well as state-of-the-art audio-visual systems with live streaming capability. It became a whole campus renovation, rebuilding the nursery school, replacing the playground, adding a basketball half court and rebuilding the offices as well as the church itself. Now the church is thriving again; it is much more spacious, has fellowship space on the same floor as the meeting house, and is now accessible to all.”
This feat not only gave the church community a new lease on life but saw RB Benson awarded a local preservation award, alongside a 2023 HOBI award for Best Large Commercial Renovation in the state. This project reflects the values that have driven RB Benson through its 44-year history: highest quality construction, attention to detail, perseverance and community building. It is also evident how much the company gives back not only to its local community but also internationally. Through the Westport Rotary Club, Rick has helped build schools in Central America and Africa as well as clean water projects in several countries, and expanded a rural hospital in Uganda.
Rick’s son R.B. joined the firm in early 2024 as VP Operations with the aim of continuing the single-family residential construction excellence, while expanding into the development of multi-family and income producing commercial projects in the future so his dad can test retirement. Together, they renovated a home in Westport for R.B., which needed to be lifted nine feet to comply with FEMA standards. The home recently won a HOBI award for Outstanding Not So Big Remodeled home in 2024.