(Top) 38 Gold Street won first place in the single-family category of the 2024 Home Beautification Contest. Over several months, the property received new siding, a new porch and patio, new windows, and new flowerbeds and landscaping. (Bottom) 26 Elm Street won first place in the multi-family category of the 2024 Home Beautification Contest with siding repairs, new paint, landscaping, replaced gutters, and the demolition and rebuilding of the porch. (Submitted photos)

NORWICH — The Evening Sun and the Norwich Building Tomorrow Foundation have announced the winners for the 2024 Home Beautification Contest.

The contest aims to revitalize the City of Norwich by identifying, encouraging, and rewarding property owners for making improvements on their homes. Judges look for exterior improvements to homes, such as siding and painting, windows, doors, landscaping, fencing, shutters, walkways, roofing, and more. They also consider how significant the renovations were, and how much the renovations positively impact the neighborhood.

This year's contest included 12 entries for the single-family, owner-occupied category and three entries for the multi-family category.

Mike and Dana Gross took first place in the single-family category with the extensive improvements made to their home at 38 Gold Street. Dana Gross said they put new espresso brown siding and cream-colored trim on their house, put on a new porch and patio, replaced the windows, and added in flowerbeds and landscaping.

"You should have seen this house when we bought it 12 years ago compared to where it is now. It’s amazing," she said. "We’re quite proud and pleased with how it came out."

The couple hired contractors for some of the work, but also completed some of it themselves. Gross said Mike built flower boxes, which she stained and installed before filling with flowers.

Gross said in total the work took six to eight months to complete, and they decided to enter the contest after seeing an ad in the Pennysaver. She said they didn't expect to win, and were surprised but thrilled to get the call that they had won first place.

"What’s funny is the day before we got the phone call, my husband said, ‘well, I guess we didn’t win anything in the contest. We haven’t heard anything.’ And I was like, ‘well I’m sure they’ll publish it in the paper or something and we’ll find out who wins that way,'" she said. "Then we got the phone call and we were both very shocked and excited."

A Victorian-era house at 26 Elm Street took first place in the multi-family category, after siding repairs, new paint, landscaping, replaced gutters, and the demolition and rebuilding of the porch. The result is a unique and stunning home in a traditional Victorian-era purple that also highlights Purple Tornado pride.

"When I picked the color it was very important for me to not have it look like every other house. Something a little unique, but something that was also traditional, and believe it or not, that’s actually a traditional color for Victorian-era houses," the homeowner explained. "The color is neat because in different lighting it looks different. When it’s darker that purple comes out a little bit more, and when it’s sunnier out that sort of pink comes out. I love the color."

He said he had been planning the restoration to his home since early 2023, but he kept the contest in mind as work began in May of this year.

"The work needed to be done regardless, and my intention was to do it no matter what. Then I saw the opportunity and I said, well, let’s align my goals with sort of the goal of the prize," he said. "I sort of always kept that in the back of my brain as I was designing and making decisions."

He said the work done to the property was a combination of his efforts and that of local contractors.

Both first-place winners said they recommend other homeowners in the City of Norwich take advantage of the Home Beautification Contest.

"It’s a great program for the City of Norwich," said Gross. "Don’t be scared to submit your photos, because you never know."

"I believe it to be a wonderful opportunity for the area, and it’s a good opportunity to show pride in the city and your property," said the owner of 26 Elm Street. "There’s no reason not to [enter]."

The Home Beautification Contest is modeled after the original contest promoted by Smith Ford Norwich in the 80s and 90s, and began in 2019. The contest has become an annual tradition supported by community sponsors working in partnership with The Norwich Building Tomorrow Foundation and The Evening Sun.


To date, the Home Beautification Contest has awarded cash prizes to 38 homeowners totaling $102,600.

The Norwich Building Tomorrow Foundation is a local not for profit with a mission to improve the quality of life in the City of Norwich, primarily through seeking opportunities to improve and preserve housing and other property development opportunities.

2024 Home Beautification Contest Winners:

Single-Family

First place: Mike and Dana Gross, 38 Gold Street, $5,000

Second place: Scott and Jamie Brown, $3,000

Third place: Ryan Kelly, $2,000

Fourth place: Kim Thompson, $1,000

Fifth place: Timothy Ryan, $1,000

Sixth place: Cynthia Izard, $1,000

Seventh place: Kim Coombs, $1,000

Multi-Family

First place: 26 Elm Street, $5,000

Second place: Don Kelly, $4,000

Third place: Deanna and David Parsons, $2,000