Belpointe sells Baypointe in $50M Stamford property trade
A limited liability company linked to Greenwich-based investment firm Belpointe sold an apartment complex in Stamford last week to another Greenwich-based LLC for $50 million, the Stamford Advocate reported. Belpointe developed the 109-unit complex known as the Baypointe, which houses one-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $2,960 to $3,340 and two-bedroom apartments with rents between $3,100 and $5,900. The anonymous buyer is Baypointe 112 LLC. “The property was not on the market, but I thought this would be a nice match between the buyer and seller,” the broker, Robert Harris of Stamford-based Robert Harris Properties, told the Advocate, calling it a “tremendous property in a great neighborhood.” The sale is one of the largest in Stamford so far this year, coming only a few weeks after the RBS Building sold for $163 million to Rubenstein Partners. The Real Deal profiled Belpointe, which launched an Opportunity Zone fund earlier this year, in its recent Tri-State issue. [Stamford Advocate]
Tom Brokaw’s Pound Ridge estate cuts ask a year after listing
Newscaster Tom Brokaw’s Pound Ridge home has taken a significant price chop, the New York Post reported, via Realtor.com. The veteran NBC News journalist and his wife, Meredith Auld, put their 56-acre estate on the market for $6.3 million last summer. The couple had previously sold a Park Avenue duplex for $10 million in 2011. Now, they’ve reduced the ask for their home at 43 South Bedford Road to $4.25 million — the same price they bought the property for back in 1998. The estate includes a five-bedroom main house, a private lake, a swimming pool and a guest house, according to the Post, which noted that the property is located about an hour north of Manhattan. “In addition, two approved building lots with lake frontage are available at 10 acres each, should the buyer want to create a family compound,” the outlet reported. Angela Kessel of Houlihan Lawrence, one of Westchester County’s top residential brokers, now has the listing, which last year was held as a co-exclusive by Ginnel Real Estate’s Muffin Dowdle and Kathleen Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens. [NYP]
Ai Weiwei-designed Ancram home hits market at $5.3M
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei only designed one private home in U.S. — and now it’s up for sale, Mansion Global reported. The unidentified owners of the three-bedroom, three-bathroom house known as the Tsai Residence in Ancram, Columbia County, bought it from art collector Christopher Tsai for $4.25 million in 2013. The current owners are now seeking to sell the property at 708 New Forge Road for $5.25 million. The home, built in 2006, “is comprised of four connected modules clad with corrugated metal on the exterior and soft gypsum wood panels on the interior,” according to the outlet. “It’s extremely finely detailed and extremely interesting,” broker Graham Klemm of Klemm Real Estate, which has handled other high-priced Hudson Valley listings, told the outlet. “[The owners] are art lovers, and the house is livable art.” Mansion Global noted that Ai also designed a Y-shaped guest house that sits on the Ancram property. [Mansion Global]
Listing agent for Farmington home of missing mom speaks out
A roughly 14,000-square-foot mansion owned by a missing Connecticut mom and her estranged luxury home builder husband is on the market for $4.35 million — but despite the circumstances surrounding the property at 4 Jefferson Crossing, its listing agent Rob Giuffria believes the case simply “brings home the fact that bad stuff can happen no matter where you live and bad stuff can happen to good people,” he told Channel 3 Eyewitness News. The disappearance of Jennifer Farber Dulos, not seen since late May, has made national headlines. Her husband, which whom she had an acrimonious split, is Fotis Dulos of the Fore Group, a development firm based out of the six-bedroom Farmington home that Giuffria is now trying to sell. Dulos and his girlfriend, former Fore Group employee Michelle Troconis, have been charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with Farber Dulos’ disappearance. Giuffria, a managing broker at Tea Leaf Realty in Farmington, became friends with the former couple after he began working with Dulos in 2013. “Good and bad happen everywhere, and it really doesn’t matter how expensive of a home you live in,” he told Eyewitness News. [TRD]
College of New Rochelle, soon to close, to sell off campus
A campus owned by the College of New Rochelle (CNR), which is preparing to shutter operations this summer, has retained A&G Realty Partners and B6 Real Estate Advisors to manage a potential sale of the 15.6-acre site, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Both firms are now soliciting bids for the property, which could be redeveloped as a residential, senior housing or research and development facility, according to LoHud. Melville-based A&G specializes in advising distressed clients looking to offload real estate assets, while New York-based B6, formed a year ago this month by former top Cushman & Wakefield broker Paul Massey, handles investment sales and capital markets advisory work in the real estate arena. CNR’s campus has 20 buildings that contain more than 425,000 square feet of space. A dominant feature of the property, as noted by DVP, is a 19th century castle built as a summer home for former New York hotel operator Simeon Leland. [DVP] — Brian Baxter
Lax property tax assessments could benefit governor’s partner
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his partner Sandra Lee announced in May plans to put their New Castle home on the market. Now a potential sale of the 4,169-square-foot home at 4 Bittersweet Lane, whose $2 million listing is held by Houlihan Lawrence’s Harriet Libov, could generate a windfall for Lee thanks to New York’s arcane real estate revaluation laws, LoHud reported. A $2 million home in New Castle, which is part of the Chappaqua school district in Westchester County, should come with a $58,000 property tax bill if assessed at its market value, according to LoHud. But the nearly three-acre property pays only $38,000 in taxes, thanks to an outdated assessment roll in the New Castle area, where the last revaluation was conducted 41 years ago, per LoHud, which noted that New York and New Jersey are among 19 states that do not require periodic revaluations. Cuomo and Lee, who are among several political families of note to call Westchester and neighboring Putnam County home over the years, did see their New Castle residence receive a higher assessed value in 2014 following a previous investigative report by LoHud. Lee, an author and Food Network star, reportedly used the New Castle home, which she nicknamed Lily Pond, as inspiration for a new home and garden book she is writing. [LoHud] — Brian Baxter
Joint venture secures $49M financing for self-storage portfolio
A joint venture has received a $48.8 million loan for three self-storage properties, two of which are in Westchester County, Commercial Property Executive reported. One of the facilities is at 316 West First Street in Mount Vernon, while the other two are at 175 Huguenot Street in New Rochelle and at 1320 Zerega Avenue in the Bronx. All three together total 175,531 square feet and have amenities including “full climate control, large interior loading area, digital webcam security system and covered parking,” according to CPE. The outlet noted that the properties have “high visibility and easy access to main thoroughfares,” including the Bronx River Parkway, Hutchinson River Parkway and Interstate 95. Wichita-based Clark Investment Group and New York-based self-storage firm GoodFriend Management make up the joint venture, whose financing was negotiated by Talonvest Capital, an Irvine, California-based boutique self-storage and commercial real estate mortgage brokerage. [CPE]
Developer buys New Rochelle apartment complex for $32M
Tuckahoe-based K5 Equities has bought the Green Dolphin Apartments in New Rochelle for $32 million, the Daily Voice Plus reported. The deal, finalized on June 4, saw Whitehall Properties, an affiliate of New York-based Pan Am Equities, unload the 120-unit complex to two affiliates of K5, whose CEO is veteran Harlem real estate investor Steven Kessner. Capital One provided a $20.5 million mortgage to K5 for the complex, which is comprised of a pair of six-story structures located at 720-730 Pelham Road, according to the outlet, which noted that Pan Am Equities initially bought the property for $5.1 million in 1996. K5’s current portfolio includes properties throughout Westchester and Fairfield counties. [DVP] — Brian Baxter
Lennar unit breaks ground on luxury building in Stamford
Stamford is getting another new luxury mixed-use building, according to the Daily Voice Plus. LMC, an apartment development subsidiary of Miami-based home building giant Lennar, recently broke ground on a 15-story project known as the Smyth that will house 414 apartments, 19,330 square feet of retail space and co-working spaces, as well as a three-story parking garage. LMC expects residents to start moving into the building at 885 Washington Boulevard in 2021. “Stamford is a highly educated city with a flourishing workforce, and we look forward to joining the area and working to become the best neighbor we can be,” said a statement from Greg Belew, LMC’s division president of the New York/Tri-State area. “The location is ideal whether residents elect to commute or remain within the neighborhood.” Apartments will range in size from studios to three-bedroom units and amenities will include a roof deck with a pool, fire pits and barbecue grills, a fitness center and a clubhouse. [DVP]
Cybersecurity firm relocates to Stamford business park
Janus Associates, a Stamford-based cybersecurity and privacy consultancy, has leased 7,500 square feet of space at a business park in the city, according to the Stamford Advocate. Janus, which moved out of its space at High Ridge Park, a Stamford corporate park it moved into in 2015, as of June 1 will be based out of the River Bend Center at 2 Omega Drive, announced Colliers International, which brokered the six-year lease. “River Bend Center is situated in a convenient location for our team, and offers our business the technologically advanced infrastructure required to provide our clients with the best possible service,” said a statement from Janus president Patricia Fisher. Amenities at River Bend Center include a cafeteria, electric vehicle charging stations and outdoor lunch and meeting spaces. [Stamford Advocate]