Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Michael D’Alessio pleads guilty to fraud, co-working space heads to White Plains … & more

White Plains developer Michael D’Alessio pleads guilty to wire fraud
Michael D’Alessio has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in development projects across New York. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said last week that D’Alessio funneled investor funds that were meant for luxury developments in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Westchester into shell accounts. The White Plains developer then used that money to “cash out early investors, cover debts, and pay his own personal gambling debts,” said Berman in prepared remarks. D’Alessio, 53, also tried to hide the fraud by “deceiving investors regarding the progress of various real estate projects,” the government said. D’Alessio could face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of committing wire fraud. [TRD]

Serendipity Labs plans to open a co-working space in White Plains’ Westchester One tower
Westchester One will soon be home to a co-working space. Serendipity Labs plans to lease 20,000 square feet of space inside the 21-story tower in White Plains, the Westchester County Business Journal reported. That will include a two-story, $2 million “co-working lab” toward the base of the building, according to the outlet. Serendipity Labs has been eyeing White Plains for a while, said its CEO and chairman John Arenas. “There’s momentum in the building and certainly the access to shopping, dining and improvements nearby have enticed us to be there,” Arenas told the WBJ. The company’s co-working space will include event space and meeting rooms, as well as wellness and quiet rooms. Westchester One, which was sold for $138 million last year to Argent Ventures, is being modernized with a new cafeteria and room for pop-up art galleries. [WBJ]

Scarsdale reviewing developers’ ideas as it envisions redeveloped downtown area
Scarsdale wants to redevelop its downtown transit center as part of an effort to attract millennials, LoHud reported. In July, the town asked developers to submit ideas for redeveloping the Freightway garage, which is south of the Scarsdale train station. Since then, several developers have done so, and the longtime commuter haven plans to gather public input before it puts out a request for proposals in 2019, its Land Use Committee chairwoman Jane Veron told LoHud. “We want to create that virtuous cycle, residents living where they can shop and eat, with easy access to New York City and bus lines, and with less reliance on motor vehicles,” Veron told the outlet. [LoHud]

Swimming and tennis club site could house assisted living facility under tentative plan
An 8.5-acre site in Hartsdale could soon be home to an assisted living facility, LoHud reported. The site on Hartsdale Avenue is currently home to the Maplewood Swim & Tennis Club, but representatives from the club planned to meet with the Greenburgh Town Board this week to talk about redeveloping the site, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner told the outlet. Redevelopment would require a special permit from the town board, according to LoHud, and plans for the facility haven’t actually been filed. [LoHud]

Single-family home sales in New Canaan were down year-over-year in October
Fewer single-family homes were sold in New Canaan last month than during the same period last year, reported New Canaanite, citing multiple listing service data. In 2017, 19 homes were sold in the town during the month of October, but last month that number dropped to 12 — a 37 percent decline. September also saw a year-over-year drop in single-family home sales, according to New Canaanite. The drop “largely reflects fewer home sales in the range of $2 million or less,” according to the outlet. Homes also spent more time on the market in October this year compared to last year, and inventory was up. [New Canaanite]

Developer plans to build eight single-family houses in Newtown
Newtown is getting eight new single-family homes, the Westchester County Business Journal reported. Developer MD57 Castle Meadow LLC plans to build a residential subdivision at 57 Castle Meadow Road in Hattertown. The homes will sit on 27 acres — 2.2 acres less than the developer had originally hoped to build on — as the town “insisted that a sufficient amount of open space for the public be established,” according to the outlet. The project, which has secured the approval of Newtown’s Planning & Zoning Commission, sets aside 4.6 acres of open space. [WBJ]