Jenny Holmes and her daughter Madison, who plans to follow in her mother’s big real estate footsteps after college. 

Directly across from Rye Town Park, a new and spacious home will soon be rising at 612 Forest Avenue. The project is the third that Sotheby’s realtor Jenny Holmes has brought to Steve Dallal, a developer from Scardsale.  

Like the legendary Holmes and Watson, this team does their sleuthing before they jump to conclusions. In the case of 612 Forest, Steve owned the former house for five years, renting it out while coming up with the perfect plan before he brought in a backhoe.  

Steve and his wife Teresa Marziano, who is his business partner at Cadco Corp., have backgrounds in finance (they met in business school), an appreciation of old houses (they live in a Victorian), and a keen interest in building practical (complete with chrome kitchen and bath fixtures, because they last), sustainable homes.  

Taking out mature trees is something he tries to avoid, and when possible, he sets up “an orphanage” at the back of a property and transplants as many trees as he can to other properties. “The challenge for a builder is that we need room to dig and a large area for machinery and materials; but there is no reason to clear-cut and take away canopy trees, which provide shade and beauty and help with water retention,” he said. 

Steve met Jenny through another realtor who was working in Bronxville and Eastchester. Nearly ten years ago, Jenny took him on a tour of Rye. “Steve loved the town but said, ‘The prices here are insane!’ But after I spent time educating him on the Rye market, he was sold.” Steve remembers telling Jenny, “Rye is where Teresa and I would have lived — for the water access — and stayed because the town has so much to offer.” 

Jenny has now found Steve three homes to reimagine in Rye — the first on Parkway Drive, the second on Dearborn Avenue (“that was a challenge as the lot was only 70-feet wide!”), and now Forest Avenue. The latter property is wide and sits back from and above the street. The 6,200 square-foot contemporary has been designed to take advantage of the views of Rye Town Park and Long Island Sound beyond. 

The look of a Steve Dallal home is unique because he is not afraid to mix materials and works closely with local architect Hans Cadek to achieve that special look.  

Has Covid changed architecture or how design? “Not dramatically,” Steve replied. “Most families want an open plan house, but they also continue to want real dining rooms. They are not vestigial spaces, as some thought they would become, but essential, because families, especially post-Covid, want to be at the table together.”  

The house is set to go on the market before Christmas. The buyer won’t have long to wait to move in as Steve has his own construction crew. “It will be ready by spring,” he said assuredly.  

Another case closed for Jenny Holmes. 

• Robin Jovanovich