Luxury Home in Cape Cod Will Fall Into the Ocean Within 3 Years—and Endanger New England’s Prized Oyster-Farming Industry

A sprawling, multimillion-dollar, beachfront mansion sitting atop a cliff on Cape Cod is teetering on the verge of falling into the ocean; and when that happens, it could devastate the economy of an entire town.

Officials in Wellfleet, MA, where the doomed property is located, are concerned that its looming collapse will harm some of New England’s most prized oyster beds.

A report commissioned by the town has found that if no action is taken to shore up the 5,100-square-foot home, it will fall into the bay within three years—and likely even sooner, reported the Associated Press.

The report prepared by Bryan McCormack, a coastal processes specialist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant, warned that the tumbling home could leave Wellfleet Harbor littered with harmful debris, endangering the famous Wellfleet oysters that take years to grow. 

“The house has a lot of fiberglass insulation in it. It has toxic material in it,” John Cumbler, a retired environmental history professor who serves on the Wellfleet Conservation Commission, told the AP.

He added: “If that toxic material gets into Wellfleet Harbor, which is where the currents will take it, it could endanger the oyster industry in Wellfleet, our major industry outside of tourism.”

The house was built in 2010, complete with a massive deck featuring a hot tub and a tower housing the residence’s main bedroom. 

In 2018, the home’s original owners, Mark and Barbara Blasch, asked for permission from the town commission to build a 241-foot-wide seawall to combat erosion. 

However, the commission rejected the proposed seawall, suggesting it could have unintended effects on the beach 25 feet below the house and affect the nutrient levels in the bay. 

The National Seashore Administration, which oversees Cape Cod National Seashore, backed the rejection of the seawall, citing the “critical location” within the seashore and Wellfleet Harbor. This matter is still wending its way through the courts.

Then in 2022, New York City attorney John Bonomi snapped up the precariously situated cliffside home for $5.5 million, even as the bluff continued eroding at a rate of 3.8 to 5.6 feet per year, according to McCormack’s report. 

Bonomi was apparently aware of the risks and, since buying the luxury home, he removed the tower and dismantled part of the deck overlooking the ocean, as a precaution.

What’s next for doomed Wellfleet home

Last October, the home’s new owner reached out to the conservation commission and promised to submit a plan by January for the at-risk property, according to Cumber. 

But before the commission’s scheduled meeting, Bonomi’s lawyer sent a letter to the town, announcing that the owner had sold the house to a salvage company.

The letter reportedly said that the salvage company was prepared to work with the town to take steps to prevent the bluff’s collapse—but not foot the bill for it. 

At the meeting last month, Bonomi’s attorney said it will cost an estimated $1 million to remove the house, according to the AP. 

At this time, it’s unclear what is going to happen to the Wellfleet home. The town decreed that action must be taken by June 1.  

Climate change affects coastal communities

Along Cape Cod, the sea level has risen between 1995 and 2024 at an annual rate of 0.16 inches faster than the prior 30-year stretch, based on an AP analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

At the same time, the erosion rate of the cape’s bluffs over the past 10 years has outpaced projections by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, according to McCormack, the Woods Hole expert who prepared the report for the town of Wellfleet. 

What’s happening in Wellfleet is emblematic of the dangers coastal communities up and down the East Coast are facing as a result of rising sea levels attributed to climate change. 

Property owners have been struggling with critical erosion problems on the upscale island of Nantucket, MA, which has seen a string of homes collapse into the ocean, or demolished, in recent years.