Greenwich home fetches $11.2M in largest local sale of 2019
An unidentified buyer shelled out $11.2 million for a lakefront home in Greenwich in a deal that “appears to be the town’s largest residential sale so far this year,” the Stamford Advocate reported. The 12,500-square-foot home at 35 Close Road, which hit the market at $12 million in July 2017, has eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a heated swimming pool, a squash and basketball court, a home theater and a private dock with 300 square feet of water frontage on Wilshire Lake, among other amenities, according to the outlet. Its sale comes amid some mixed signals in Greenwich’s luxury residential sector, as noted by The Real Deal earlier this month in its inaugural Tri-State issue. Greenwich’s top residential sale of 2018 was a 27-room Georgian estate at 110 Clapboard Ridge Road that went for $17.5 million in December. For 35 Close Road, Five Corner Properties’ Danielle Malloy represented the seller and Houlihan Lawrence’s Deborah Huffard brought in the buyer. The Georgian colonial home was built in 2006, the outlet reported. [Stamford Advocate]
Sleepy Hollow landlord sells eight-building portfolio for $10.7M
An eight-building, mixed-use portfolio in Sleepy Hollow has been sold for $10.7 million, LoHud reported. Developer William Procida, president of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based Procida Funding & Advisors, bought the properties — seven of which are on Cortland Street and one of which is at 76 Beekman Avenue — and others in early 2017 when their previous owners filed for bankruptcy, according to the outlet. The portfolio comprises 63 apartments and eight retail spaces. A team from Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office represented Procida and brought in the buyer, a Chestnut Ridge-based limited liability company, according to LoHud. “Properties near Westchester train stations are fast becoming the most ‘in-demand’ asset class, and this was an extremely rare opportunity to own a ‘value add’ asset in a Westchester river town,” Marcus & Millichap’s team said in a statement. Procida, who late last year spoke with LoHud about his plans to spruce up Sleepy Hollow’s downtown, declined to discuss why he decided to sell the buildings. [LoHud]
Wells Fargo Advisors inks lease ahead of move to Purchase
Leaving White Plains in its rear view, Wells Fargo Advisors is moving its Westchester County office to nearby Purchase, the Westchester County Business Journal reported. The brokerage plans to move 75 employees from 1133 Westchester Avenue in White Plains to 2500 Westchester Avenue in Purchase, where it has signed a 21,300-square-foot lease, according to the outlet. CBRE Group, which advised landlord Normandy Real Estate Partners, told the outlet that the asking rent was $27 per square foot. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Paul Kauffman represented Wells Fargo. The lease “marks the largest in Westchester County by square footage for the first couple months of 2019,” the outlet reported. The Purchase building is part of an office building portfolio known as The Exchange. In January, a group of developers sought to add three five-story apartment buildings to Wells Fargo’s former Westchester Avenue home in White Plains. [WBJ]
SALT deduction cap discontent boosts Fairfield housing inventory
Approximately 1,100 homes were on the market in Fairfield County in January — 10 percent more than were listed during the same time last year, the News-Times reported, citing data from William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty. The increased inventory comes amid lingering discontent over the late 2017 federal tax overhaul that put a $10,000 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). Bloomberg reported this week that 10.9 million people are losing out on SALT tax breaks. Connecticut’s U.S. senators, Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy, have thrown their support behind a new SALT bill — Stop Attacking Local Taxpayers — that would eliminate the cap, one that Blumenthal called “devastatingly unfair” to homeowners in his state. Fairfield has seen year-over-year increases in monthly housing inventory since August, according to the News-Times, which noted that this spring could be one of the most competitive seasons in years for sellers. [News-Times]
Yonkers manufacturer moves to Rye Brook, gets tax exemption
POP Displays USA is relocating to Rye Brook, according to the Westchester County Business Journal. The Yonkers-based display manufacturer plans to move out of its current facility at 555 Tuckahoe Road and into a new, 25,000-square-foot headquarters at 1 International Drive, which was part of SL Green Realty’s Reckson Executive Park until a joint venture led by George Comfort & Sons paid $55 million for the six-building property last summer. Pop Displays recently secured preliminary approval from the Westchester Industrial Development Agency for a $275,000 sales tax exemption for renovations and furnishings at its new space. In an application, the private equity-owned company said its move to Rye Brook was a result of the “high occupancy cost associated with its current location, as well as other factors.” The move is expected to happen by July, according to the outlet. [WBJ]
Stamford’s Eastern Land Management opens Monroe campus
Eastern Land Management has opened a new campus in Monroe, the Fairfield County Business Journal reported. The Stamford-based commercial landscaping and snow removal services firm’s new 6-acre, 20,000-square-foot campus at 154 Enterprise Drive “will serve as a hub for its winter operations and will house the company’s new zero-emission, all-electric fleet,” the outlet reported. ELM’s president, Bruce Moore Jr., told the outlet the company has been working to become more sustainable. “Last year, we committed to dramatically take our green game up a notch,” he said. “With a special focus on alternative fuels and less harmful approaches, we hope to make ELM a leader in sustainability and value creation.” [FBJ]