Developer behind under-construction Norwalk mall faces buyout bid
GGP, the developer behind the SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk, is facing a $15 billion buyout offer. Brookfield Properties, which already owns 34 percent of GGP, is offering $23 per share for the rest of the company – half in cash and half in equity, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under construction just off Interstate 95, the SoNo Collection would have more than 700,000 square feet of retail space anchored by Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. Experts believe Brookfield will look to add office space, apartments and entertainment venues to vacant spots in GGP’s malls. [TRD]
Outgoing Astorino keeps property taxes flat in final proposed Westchester budget
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has proposed a 2018 budget that keeps property taxes flat and slightly increases spending. If approved, this would be the eighth consecutive budget without a property tax increase for Astorino, who lost his reelection bid to state Sen. George Latimer. To increase spending and keep taxes flat, the proposed budget counts on $30 million from privatizing of Westchester County Airport. [Lohud]
Danbury’s Lee Farm Corporate Park sold for $31.75M
The Grossman Companies and Summit Development sold the Lee Farm Corporate Office Park in Danbury for $31.75 million. CT Property Realty purchased the five-story 215,650-square-foot office building at the intersection of I-84 and U.S. Route 7. Grossman and Summit bought the property in 2013 for $16.9 million and invested more than $1 million in renovations. The office space is 100 percent leased, with tenants including Wells Fargo and Lenovo. [NewsTimes]
RXR and Rising Development top off new apartment tower in $200M Yonkers project
Construction of Larkin Plaza, a joint project between Rising Development and RXR Realty on the Yonkers waterfront, hit a milestone as developers topped off of a 17-story residential tower, Westchester Business Journal reported. The 170-unit building is the first of three in the planned $200 million mixed-use development. Another 25-story tower will add 269 more residential units, while the project’s 35,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space will be in the third building. The first residents are expected to move into Larkin Plaza in 2019. [WBJ]
Greenwich considers controversial affordable apartment construction plan
The Planning and Zoning Commission in Greenwich will decide the fate of a plan to build a 52,000-square-foot Apartment Building On Sound Beach Avenue after hearing final arguments this week. The 60-unit building’s developers, 143 Sound Beach Associates, believe that the 18 affordable housing units included in the plan will aid in its approval since Connecticut law makes it difficult to deny permits to projects that include affordable housing if less than 10 percent of the city’s housing is affordable. Greenwich falls well below that mark. Residents object to the plan because of a potential increase in traffic and a lack of parking. The proposal only offers 47 parking spaces, Greenwich Time reported. [Greenwich Time]