Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Redfin expanding to Fairfield County, developer locked in $26M legal battle with nuns in Greenburgh … & more

Online broker Redfin expands to Fairfield County
Redfin, the online real estate brokerage, is expanding to Connecticut and Fairfield County will be among the first areas covered. Richard Thomas, who ran three Century 21 offices that served Hartford, New Haven, Middlesex and Litchfield counties, will lead Redfin’s Connecticut operations, according to the company. Redfin will offer Connecticut homeowners a 1 percent listing fee, with a $3,000 minimum, which the company claims would save a homeowner $10,000 on a $500,000 sale, Housing Wire reported. [HousingWire]

Holy legal battle: Developer locked in $26M suit with nuns for over Greenburgh apartment project
In 2006, S&R Development Estates bought a 2.3-acre site in Greenburgh, planning to build a four-story, 45-unit apartment building. But the neighbors objected. Those neighbors are the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a cloistered Catholic order who occupy what was once a single-family home. Both plots of land are part of the former Gerald Fountain Homestead, which also includes the Greenburgh Nature Center and land owned by the Edgemont School District. In 1912, Gerald Fountain divided his land into 10 parcels and gave the owners of each the power decide what gets built on the entire Homestead property. S&R, however, thinks it’s a violation of the Fair Housing Act for the nuns and other owners to stop its development because the project will include affordable units. The developer’s suit in federal court is seeking $26 million in damages from the nuns, the town of Greenburgh and the school district, LoHud reported. [Lohud]

Greenwich’s main drag has fifth highest retail rent in the nation, JLL finds
With retail rents on Greenwich Avenue averaging $86.53 per square foot, JLL puts Greenwich’s main commercial area to be the fifth most expensive street in the nation. Stores are paying a 177.4 percent premium to be on Greenwich Avenue compared to the rest of Fairfield County, JLL found. San Francisco’s Sand Hill Road, New York City’s Fifth Avenue, San Francisco’s Mission Street and Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Main Street were the locations that cost more than Greenwich, the Fairfield Business Journal reported. [Fairfield Business Journal]

Sarah Lawrence breaks ground on Barbara Walters Center in Yonkers
Sarah Lawrence College broke ground on a $35 million campus center at 968 Kimball Avenue in Yonkers. Named after the television news personality Barbara Walters, a Sarah Lawrence alumna, the 34,800-square-foot center is designed by KSS Architects and will open in 2019. Walters donated $15 million to kickstart the donor funding for the project. [Lohud]

Ginsburg buys 207-unit Mohegan Lake rental complex for $54M
The Landing on Mohegan Lake, a 207-unit rental complex, has a new owner. Ginsburg Development paid $54 million to New Chalet Apartments, a Dallas private equity group, for the property. Construction on the complex was completed in 1999, but New Chalet recently upgraded the apartments with new kitchens and utilities. Ginsburg plans to expand the communal features at The Landing with a playground and a lakeside clubhouse. Ginsburg also plans to run shuttles to the Metro-North station and its apartment complex in Peekskill, which is currently under construction. [Fairfield Business Journal]

Residential developer acquires three South Norwalk industrial parcels
The cavernous 40,000-square-foot industrial building at 57 Chestnut Street in South Norwalk housed Pac-Kit Safety Equipment, which assembled first-aid kits for more than a century before the firm was acquired and closed up shop in 2015. Now developer Keith Brown of RBA Properties has bought the property and two adjacent parcels, The Hour reported. Brown previously tried to redevelop the same street with mixed-use projects and with Condon Brown Builders has developed other projects such as the Haviland Gates town houses in South Norwalk. [The Hour]