Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Wells Fargo calls Fairfield County ‘distressed,’ Mamaroneck yacht club sells … & more

Wells Fargo deems Fairfield County ‘distressed,’ raises down payment requirement
Wells Fargo has designated Fairfield County as “distressed” and increased its required down payment for prospective homebuyers from 20 percent to 25 percent as a result, Bloomberg reported. Fairfield County was the only county in Connecticut and the New York City metropolitan area that saw an increased down payment requirement. Jennifer Leahy, a sales agent at Douglas Elliman in Fairfield County, told the outlet that the news came as a shock to brokers. “The brokerage community was not pleased because that really affects deals,” she said. Miller Samuel president Jonathan Miller told Bloomberg that there didn’t seem to be any “rhyme or reason” for singling out Fairfield County. “The only thing I can think of is they’re worried about what’s happening in Hartford more than what’s happening at the specific property level,” he said. [Bloomberg]

Mamaroneck yacht club with views of Long Island Sound finds a buyer
An unidentified buyer has snapped up Westchester County’s Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club in Mamaroneck, announced Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. The firm didn’t disclose how much the club went for, but it was last listed at $10 million, according to a press release. The club includes an 18,000-square-foot mansion with a 6,000-square-foot ballroom, as well as a private sandy beach, “lush gardens,” tennis courts, and pools. Arlene Gibbs, an agent with the Larchmont brokerage at Sotheby’s, had the listing. “I was honored to represent the wonderful Rosenshein family in this important transaction and help to secure the buyers, who will now begin the club’s next chapter and create a new vision for this waterfront jewel on the Long Island Sound,” Gibbs said in a statement. She added that the club is a “beach lover’s paradise.” [PRWeb]

Westchester County passes bill instituting deadlines for co-op board decisions
Co-op boards in Westchester County will have to make up their minds about potential buyers in a timely manner moving forward. Lawmakers this week voted to pass a bill that requires boards to acknowledge applications within 15 days — and let potential buyers know if their applications are missing anything — and either accept or reject completed applications within 60 days, LoHud reported. “At the heart of it was to speak to discrimination and to fight back against discrimination in housing in this county,” Legislator Chris Johnson, a Yonkers Democrat and sponsor of the bill, told the outlet. The bill did not include a provision that would have required boards to provide a written explanation for the rejection of an application, as co-op owners protested against it, according to LoHud. Boards will, however, have to send any applications they reject to Westchester County’s Human Rights Commission. [LoHud]

Yonkers luxury building starts leasing apartments; move-ins to begin next month
RXR Realty’s new luxury complex in downtown Yonkers has started leasing out apartments, LoHud reported. Sawyer Place, which is under construction on Main Street, will house 442 apartments and a parking garage. Tenants will be able to start moving into the 17-story building on Dec. 1, according to the outlet. Studios at the tower will start at $1,805 per month, with one-bedrooms starting at $2,397 and two-bedrooms at $3,361. The complex will have “a landscaped rooftop terrace with sun deck; an outdoor movie projection screen; a fitness center and yoga studio; and a lounge with media center and billiards,” the outlet reported. [LoHud]

Southwestern Connecticut sees new retail openings despite closings across the country
Even as Black Friday looms, stores across the country have been succumbing over the past year to the so-called retailpocalypse, but that hasn’t stopped some retailers from opening new outposts in affluent enclaves like Greenwich and Westport, according to The Norwalk Hour. Stores such as Fjallraven, Frame and Warby Parker set up shop in Greenwich this year, while Westport has seen the opening of a Peloton, as well as a number of stores moving into its Bedford Square retail development. Companies have been able to use consumer-centric data to determine that they will be able to draw customers to brick-and-mortar stores in those locations, Jessica Curtis, a retail brokerage expert in CBRE’s Stamford office, told the outlet. “Many of these retailers have had an online presence for a while… and they know their customer is here because they are shipping products here,” she said. [The Hour]

SoNo Square in Norwalk secures $11.5M in financing arranged by Cronheim Mortgage
A mixed-use complex in Norwalk called SoNo Square has secured $11.5 million in financing, the Fairfield County Business Journal reported. Cronheim Mortgage arranged the loan for the borrower, SoNo Square Associates LLC, an affiliate of David Adam Realty in Westport. The 94,472-square-foot SoNo Square houses retail, office, and industrial tenants, including Pedego Electric Bikes and boating supply and fishing retailer West Marine, according to the outlet. In September, The Norwalk Hour reported on the closure of a Lillian August SoNo annex, as the home furnishings company seeks to steer customers to its other stores in Greenwich, Norwalk, and Stamford. [FBJ]