Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Why Gold Coast megamansions are selling for the “right” price, AMS buys another Yonkers office building … & more

Clockwise from top left: The race is on for equestrian estates in Westchester, luxury sales along Fairfield's Gold Coast start to move, Avalon sold its community in Shelton, and AMS bought the office building at 86 Main St. in Yonkers.
Clockwise from top left: The race is on for equestrian estates in Westchester, luxury sales along Fairfield's Gold Coast start to move, Avalon sold its community in Shelton, and AMS bought the office building at 86 Main St. in Yonkers.

Megamansions on Connecticut’s Gold Coast selling for the “right” price
The luxury market may be soft, but sales are happening along Fairfield County’s Gold Coast. With four sales of over $20 million since September, brokers are seeing signs of a rebound in a market segment that saw only three sales above $10 million last year. “Activity isn’t improving because demand is increasing — the demand was always there. It’s just that the pricing didn’t reflect today’s market,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel. [TRD]

AMS buys another Yonkers office building for $9.5M
The six-story office building at 86 Main Street in Yonkers, which was built for Homes for America in 2005, has a new owner. New York City REIT AMS Acquisitions paid Madison Realty Capital $9.5 million for the property, which is across the street from the Yonkers Metro North station. AMS, which bought the building at 92 Main Street for $17.5 million in January 2017, plans significant renovations to the building, including adding floor-to-ceiling windows on the top three floors. Schuckman Realty represented both parties in the sale, and Cushman & Wakefield has been chosen as the leasing agent. [Press Release]

RXR has a master plan to bring retail to downtown New Rochelle
When RXR announced that RM Friedland will be the exclusive retail leasing agent for its 587 Main tower in New Rochelle, the city and RXR, as downtown’s master developer, took another small step at revitalizing the area. The 28-story mixed-use tower, which is expected to open in 2019, is the first project in an ambitious plan to bring up to 20,000 new residents and retail to a less than trendy neighborhood. “Right now, we have about five construction sites, which is huge for us,” Luiz Aragon, commissioner for development for the city of New Rochelle, told TRD. [TRD]

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AvalonBay sells townhouse community in Shelton for $33M
Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions bought the Avalon Huntington complex in Shelton from AvalonBay Communities for $33 million, the New Haven Register reported. The 99-unit complex has 86 townhouse-style homes and opened in 2008. Victor Nolletti and Eric Pentore of Institutional Property Advisors represented the Virginia-based AvalonBay and found the buyer. [New Haven Register]

Horse owners in Westchester try to trot past the competition
There’s a horse race in Westchester County, but the competition is between equine owners not their animals. In what one Westchester broker called an “equestrian arms race,” well-shod owners are trying to out-do each other by buying extravagant horse-friendly country homes. “First, it was crazy expensive stables, now it’s massive indoor riding rings,” one industry insider told The Real Deal. Strict zoning laws and lack of available land prevent building new equestrian estates, so those who have the millions to invest are racing for the available properties. [TRD]

Mount Vernon looks to sell YMCA building for a controversial price
The city of Mount Vernon is looking to sell the vacant YMCA on Library Square that it bought in 2012, but the City Council is reversing course to ensure the buyer pays the full $500,000 that an appraisal assessed as the building’s value. In December, the council weighed selling the property for only $175,000 to Comrie Enterprises and Direct Invest Development, who are partners in a proposed Library Square residential redevelopment. Mount Vernon bought the YMCA building for $700,000 and has poured $400,000 into renovations. In 2016, however, the city fired the contractor it had hired for renovations and announced the building would not reopen. [LoHud]