Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Battle for Bridgeport casino project intensifies, American Christmas warehouse sells & more

American Christmas warehouse in Mount Vernon sold for $11.85M
An Austria-based company paid $11.85 million to buy American Christmas — or at least the festive lighting company American Christmas Inc.’s Mount Vernon warehouse. The 110,000-square-foot building sits on 2.25 acres off of Warren Place. It has housed the festive lighting business of American Christmas since 2010. MK Illumination, which is the largest festive lighting company in Europe, will move its U.S. headquarters to the Mount Vernon location. [WBJ]

Bridgeport casino plans get political as tribes want to compete with MGM
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which operate Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, are jumping into the competition for a proposed casino in Bridgeport. It’s a move that ups their battle with MGM Resorts International, which is pushing its own $675 million gambling and entertainment plan for Bridgeport. Doubling down on Bridgeport’s future, Mohegan Sun also announced that it will schedule concerts and sporting events at Webster Bank Arena. No casino will be built in Bridgeport, however, without a state law change, meaning that all interested parties will be putting big bets on lobbying when the General Assembly convenes in February. [The Day]

GDC Properties buys Norwalk luxury apartments for $106M
Texas-based Hunt Investment Management sold a 235-unit luxury apartment complex in Norwalk for $105.9 million to GDC Properties of Westchester. The 23-acre property near the Norwalk-Westport border, dubbed 597 Westport, was built in 2009. The sale went through a 1031 exchange, a tax provision that allows investors to reinvest the proceeds of a sale in another property without paying capital gains taxes. [FBJ]

Broad Street tower in Mount Vernon scores $59M in construction financing
The joint venture behind a 16-story tower being built at 42 Broad Street in Mount Vernon has secured a $59 million loan for construction. Partners the Alexander Developer Group, the Bluestone Organization and JP Morgan Asset Management were advised by Cole Schotz in securing the financing from Santander Bank and People’s United Bank, according to a press release about the transaction. The completed building will have 249 apartments, first floor retail space and a four-story parking garage.

Yonkers apartments to become 10% affordable after developer fails to start construction on time
Ten percent of the apartments at 70 Jackson Street will become affordable housing since the project’s developer failed to begin construction on time, according to a new deal struck with the Yonkers City Council. The company’s original agreement with the city would have seen the property transferred back to the public if construction didn’t start this year. The developer, 70 Jackson Street LLC, had planned to build an eight-story building with 128 market-rate units and 170 parking spots on the former site of PS 19. [Lohud]

Plans filed for 79-unit apartment project near Port Chester train station
Downtown Port Chester may soon see a new five-story mixed-use building within walking distance from the village’s Metro-North station. G&S Investors, which already built retail at The Waterfront at Port Chester, submitted plans to add 79 apartments and 12,000 more square feet of retail right next door. The Port Chester Board of Trustees approved a zoning change in 2016 that allows a multifamily residential project to be built on the site. [WBJ]