‘Market realities’ force Greenwich homeowners to sell for less
Homeowners trying to sell off pricey properties in Greenwich are settling for less than optimal offers — or giving up and renting out their homes instead, the Wall Street Journal reported. One homeowner decided to auction off his Round Hill Road home after it took three price chops during its four years on the market, saying he “[didn’t] want it to drag on.” Music executive Tommy Mottola and hedge fund honcho Ara Cohen, meanwhile, recently unloaded their Greenwich homes for “significantly less” than the high-powered businessmen initially expected. Forty-five properties in Greenwich that were listed for more than $5 million took price cuts of 10 percent or more between April 2018 and March 2019, the outlet reported, citing data from the Rupert Murdoch-owned Realtor.com. Greenwich lawyer Frank Gilbride II told the outlet that many sellers “are taking hair cuts of $1 million or more just to move on.” [WSJ]
One City Place in White Plains hits the market, could fetch $155M
An affiliate of JPMorgan Chase has put a 35-story apartment complex in White Plains on the market, according to Real Estate Alert. JPMorgan Asset Management bought One City Place from Louis Cappelli back in 2005. The building houses 311 apartment units, as well as a fitness center, a clubroom, a golf simulator, a children’s playroom, a resident lounge and a patio. It’s also next to Cappelli’s $320 million City Center development, which opened in 2003 and includes shops, a theater, parking garages and a Trump Tower condo, as well as two other residential buildings. The tower “could attract bids of about $155 million, or $490,000 per unit,” the outlet reported. CBRE is marketing the complex. [Real Estate Alert]
Big Fairfield, Westchester portfolio sale gets $401M in financing
A team from commercial brokerage HFF arranged $400.6 million in financing for the sale of a 56-building office and residential portfolio in Westchester and Fairfield counties, the Daily Voice Plus reported. In March, Jersey City-based real estate investment trust Mack-Cali Realty announced a $487.5 million deal to unload its properties in both counties to an affiliate of the Robert Martin Company, as previously noted by The Real Deal. Among buildings in the portfolio sold by Mack-Cali are the Cross Westchester Executive Park in Elmsford, the Stamford Executive Park in Stamford, the Mid-Westchester Executive Park in Hawthorne and the South Westchester Executive Park in Yonkers. Mack-Cali has been unloading properties in Westchester and Fairfield in an effort to refocus on its investments in New Jersey. The REIT, under fire this week from an activist investor, recently closed on its $263.8 million acquisition of Jersey City’s Soho Lofts. As for HFF, it’s poised to be absorbed into Chicago-based rival JLL in a $2 billion transaction. [DVP]
Once listed at $30M, Chappaqua estate heads to auction
A bankruptcy auction will be held on May 11 for a Georgian-style stone mansion in Chappaqua, Mansion Global reported. The 86-acre estate first hit the market seeking $30 million in 2010, but then saw its asking price reduced several times. The 19,000-square-foot home designed by architect Boris Baranovich took a price cut to $19.9 million in 2014, according to a Curbed report at the time. Earlier this year, property records show that the home at 48 Haights Road had its price trimmed again, to $13.75 million. Mansion Global reported that the home was built in 2004 by Stewart Dauman, a former CEO of Vision Financial Corporation, and his wife, Debra. The couple could not be reached by the outlet for comment. Elite Auctions is handling the potential sale of the mansion, which has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three half-baths, an indoor basketball court, gym and a billiards room that also serves as a home theater. If there is a sale, a bankruptcy court is scheduled to approve a deal on June 10, according to Elite Auctions. [Mansion Global]
Brokerage sues Mount Vernon apartment seller for commission
A Long Island brokerage has hit the seller of a Mount Vernon apartment complex with a lawsuit claiming that it’s refusing to fork over a $260,000 brokerage fee, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Great Neck-based Mordel Real Estate Advisors filed its civil complaint against Oakwood Gardens Apartments seller Mt. V LLC, alleging that it negotiated the sale of the complex to Manhattan-based K&R Preservation. The limited liability company, however, never paid the 2 percent commission, according to Mordel’s lawsuit. Real estate lawyer Aaron Seligson of Seligson, Rothman & Rothman, who manages Mt. V LLC, did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment on the lawsuit, nor did associate Stewart Rothman, according to the Daily Voice. [DVP]
Self-storage company proposes 8-story building in Yonkers
Safeguard Self Storage hopes to build an 8-story self-storage building in Yonkers, the Daily Voice Plus reported. The outlet noted that the Atlanta-based company’s senior vice president for development, Stanley Bonilla, told the Yonkers Planning Board that its existing self-storage facility in Yonkers is “currently very full, operating at 97 percent occupancy on average, which means we have no units to rent to anybody.” The project, which would include around 3,600 square feet of retail space and 43 parking spaces, is designed to help address Yonkers’ low self-storage space supply, Bonilla said. The city’s planning board is expected to vote on Safeguard’s application next month. [DVP]
Stratford-based neurology group inks 10-year office park lease
A longtime neurology group based in Stratford is moving to a new building building in the same town, the Connecticut Post reported. Neurological Specialists, which has operated out of the Fairfield County town for more than three decades, has signed a 10-year lease for around 5,700 square feet of space at the Merritt 8 Corporate Park, according to the outlet. Existing tenants include Yale New Haven Health Services and New York Life Insurance Company. “We are very excited about the move because it’s going to be a new facility, built [out] from scratch with all the modern things that need to be set in a medical facility,” Dr. Yaniv Chen, one of the neurology firm’s partners, told the outlet. Avison Young associate Eva Kornreich represented the practice, while Mountain Development Corporation’s managing director of properties Joseph Coci III took the lead for the landlord. [CTPost]
19th-century Fairfield home gutted by fire lists after renovations
A historic home in Fairfield that was slated for demolition after a fire tore through it in 2017 is hitting the market after undergoing extensive repairs and renovations, the Connecticut Post reported. Trumbull-based real estate developer John Paul poured an “untold amount” of money into the 1816-built Sherman Parsonage at 480 Old Post Road to restore it after the fire and is now planning to sell it, according to the outlet. His company, John Paul Development, added a garage, several bedrooms, a finished basement and an attic to the original structure. “Nobody wanted to buy it and they’d listed it as a teardown,” Paul told the outlet. “We had to redo the whole house.” He said he hadn’t yet decided on a specific asking price. [CTPost]