White Plains approves Martin Ginsburg’s City Square plans
Veteran developer Martin Ginsburg has received approval to move forward with his plans to redevelop the Westchester Financial Center, the Daily Voice Plus reported. The White Plains Common Council earlier this week approved plans for the project known as City Square. In an interview with The Real Deal in May, Ginsburg said City Square will “make [the center] a tremendous gateway to White Plains.” Plans for the redevelopment include retail and restaurants on Main Street, luxury rentals and a “Central Park” with a fountain, performance space and outdoor dining. Ginsburg’s development firm paid $83 million last year to acquire the 3.9-acre site and subsequently secured $120 million in financing for redevelopment work. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is also carrying out a $92 million renovation of the Metro-North train station in White Plains — a project that Ginsburg previously told TRD was “icing on the cake as far as we were concerned.” [DVP]
Disgraced hedge funder’s Greenwich home cuts ask again
Almost eight years after being sentenced to five years in federal prison following a guilty plea to insider trading charges, Joseph “Chip” Skowron III has found it difficult to immerse himself again in high-society Greenwich, Vanity Fair reported. Skowron, who was released from prison in November 2015, put his nearly 11,000-square-foot mansion at 16 Doubling Road on the market in May 2018 with an $11.7 million ask. Christopher Fountain, the Greenwich realtor-cum-provocateur behind the For What It’s Worth blog, noted a month later that the home quickly trimmed its ask by $1 million with federal prosecutors holding a lien of nearly $16.4 million on the property. The nearly three-acre estate took another price cut in March, to $9.7 million, until slashing its price tag again in late June, to $8.9 million. Jill Tighe Kelly of Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing. [Vanity Fair] — Brian Baxter
New Rochelle approves plans for 24-story downtown hotel
A hotel bigger than any other built in Westchester County in the past 20 years is heading to New Rochelle, Bloomberg reported. Ward Capital Management, a Dobbs Ferry-based real estate investment firm that has backed other hotel projects in the Tri-State area, has secured the city’s approval to build a 24-story, 225-key hotel in downtown New Rochelle operated by Wyndham Hotels Group. The TRYP hotel “will have a glass tower connected to a 114-year-old brick building, which will serve as the hotel lobby,” according to Bloomberg. Amenities at the $64 million development, which the Daily Voice Plus reported has received local tax breaks, include a restaurant and bar, a spa, a rooftop pool and grill, valet parking and conference space. The approval comes as New Rochelle works to revitalize its downtown area to attract younger residents. [TRD]
LLC pays $36M for deed to Yonkers hotel property
A Yonkers property that houses a Hampton Inn & Suites is now owned by a Delaware-based limited liability company, the Daily Voice Plus reported. GSMS 2014-GC24 Corporate Drive LLC bought the deed to 160 Corporate Boulevard for $35.8 million, according to the outlet, citing documents filed with the Westchester County Clerk’s Office. The LLC is owned by Miami Beach-based LNR Partners, which in May agreed to sell a Connecticut shopping mall for almost $60 million. The purchase comes a year after Wells Fargo sought to foreclose on a $25.8 million mortgage loan on behalf of a mortgage securities entity, naming FSG Yonkers Hotel LLC, the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency and others as defendants, the DVP reported. The Hampton Inn & Suites opened its doors in 2009 and remains in operation, so it was not immediately clear what plans the new owners of the property have for it. [DVP]
Westport office complex sells for $30M to LLC
A two-building office property in Westport has been sold for a little more than $30 million to a limited liability company, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Boston-based real estate investor Marcus Partners, advised by CBRE vice chairman Jeffrey Dunne and a team from the brokerage’s institutional properties group, unloaded the complex to WFF Westport TT LLC, an entity controlled by Boston-based broker-dealer Waterway Capital, according to Westport Now. The deal includes 83,964 square feet of office space at 8-10 Wright Street that Marcus Partners spent about $4 million to renovate after acquiring the property for $16.35 million in 2014. The two buildings are 94 percent leased, according to the DVP, which noted that current tenants include UBS, shared office space provider Regus, Energy Income Partners and Ameriprise Financial. [DVP] — Brian Baxter
Rose Associates buys vacant hospital site in Port Chester
New York-based Rose Associates has snapped up the abandoned United Hospital site in Port Chester, LoHud reported. The developer plans to team up with New York-based BedRock Real Estate Partners on a mixed-use project that will include putting multifamily rental apartments aimed at “young professionals and residents without children,” the outlet reported. Starwood Capital Group had previously secured zoning approvals for a project at the 15.45-acre site that included a hotel offices, retail space and apartments, but ended up putting the property up for sale in 2017. Amy Rose, president and CEO of Rose Associates, told LoHud that her firm was “thrilled to embark on the complete redevelopment of this ideally located property and to deliver a project that truly benefits Port Chester and the surrounding community.” A local community group has welcomed the news of the new proposal for the former United Hospital, which closed more than a decade ago. [LoHud]
Actress puts Rockland County home on the market at $7M
Arlene Dahl has put her weekend retreat in Sparkill on the market for $6.5 million, LoHud reported. The Victorian estate at 4 Deer Run, known as Treetops, sits on nine acres and has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a swimming pool, vintage porches in the front and back, marble fireplaces, a three-story barn, a garage and an outhouse. Dahl, 92, starred in more than 30 films during the 1940s and 1950s. She lives in the home with her sixth husband, Marc Rosen, whom she wed in 1984. The couple have hosted a number of celebrity friends at Treetops over the years, according to the outlet. In an interview with LoHud several years ago, Rosen described the home as a “throwback to a gentler time, like going into a Merchant Ivory movie.” Dahl, the mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas, appears to have previously listed Treetops for $8.5 million back in 2008. Richard Ellis of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty now has the listing for the property. [LoHud]
Movie producer, actress look to sell their Roxbury home
Movie producer Edward Pressman and actress Annie McEnroe are selling their Litchfield County home for $1.25 million, Patch reported. The historic home at 6 Schoolhouse Road in Roxbury sits on approximately 3.75 acres and has four bedrooms, a studio, a pool house, stone terraces and “hidden gardens,” according to listing brokerage Klemm Real Estate, which last month expanded its operations in the region by absorbing a local firm. Pressman’s film credits include “Wall Street,” “Badlands” and “American Psycho,” while McEnroe appeared in movies like “Wall Street” and “Beetlejuice.” The couple met on the set of “The Hand,” a 1981 horror firm that Pressman produced. “After having enjoyed this property for 22 years, commitments on the West Coast have led to this offering,” listing agent Roger Saucy said in a statement, calling the property one that “will appeal to anyone seeking a historic home of the era.” [Patch]