Multifamily properties trade in Bridgeport, Toll Brothers buys in White Plains and more Westchester & Fairfield real estate news

Investment firm brokers 4 Bridgeport sales totaling $12M
The Shelton office of private investment firm Northeast Private Client Group handled the sale of nine Bridgeport properties totaling 152 units, the Daily Voice Plus reported. The four transactions total almost $11.73 million, and involve a 44-unit multifamily portfolio at 740 Ellsworth Street and 191 Oak Street that sold for $3.6 million, a 32-unit building at 240 Oak Street that went for $2.3 million, a two-location portfolio with 35 total units that fetched $2.28 million and four properties totaling 41 units on East Main Street that sold for $3.6 million. All of the deals involved private investors and limited liability companies, according to DVP. The Real Deal reported this week on the $24 million sale of a 238-unit portfolio in Bridgeport and nearby Stratford to a private equity firm and a local multifamily operator. MLK Real Estate Capital arranged the joint venture for that multifamily transaction in Fairfield County, where rentals have recently become a hot commodity for real estate investors. [DVP] —Brian Baxter

Toll Brothers buys White Plains development site for $33M
One the of the nation’s largest homebuilders is paying almost $33 million to acquire The Collection, a proposed $136.2 million mixed-use development on a 3.1-acre lot in downtown White Plains, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Saber Chauncey WP, a limited liability company advised by a CBRE team led by vice chairman Jeffrey Dunne, agreed to sell a row of single-story retail buildings on the site to Toll Brothers. The outlet noted that the deal became public when the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency agreed Thursday to allow Saber to assign its rights and tax benefits for the project to Toll subsidiary TB White Plains Apartments. Saber principal Martin Berger told the DVP his firm’s decision to sell came about as a result of the project shifting from retail to largely residential, a specialty of Toll, which is behind the $1 billion Edge-on-Hudson development in nearby Sleepy Hollow. The Collection’s plans call for two towers with 276 apartments, roughly 25,000 square feet of retail space and 716 parking spaces, according to the DVP. Westchester’s IDA granted $3.4 million in sales and mortgage recording tax exemptions to Saber for the project, which has also received a property tax abatement from White Plains. [DVP] —Brian Baxter

NYC-based LLC pays $8.3M for Stamford office building
An office building in downtown Stamford has a new owner, the Stamford Advocate reported. A Manhattan-based limited liability company bought 300 Main Street from a Miami Beach-based LLC for around $8.3 million, according to the outlet. The property “drew a wide range of investors” and landed 11 bidders, Jacklene Chesler, an executive managing director at Colliers International, which represented both the buyer and the seller, told the outlet. “It’s an extremely attractive value-add, mixed-use investment opportunity in an area that is rich in amenities with a reliable transportation network and a highly-skilled workforce,” she said. Daily Voice Plus reported that the 91,480-square foot building was once owned by Seaboard Realty, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015. The building, which was last sold for $11.65 million in 2016 after being put up for auction with seven other former Seaboard properties, is now “mostly unleased,” with around 36,000 square feet of space available, according to the Advocate. [Stamford Advocate]

Chinese builder gets $70M loan for River Club in Yonkers
Strategic Capital, the investment arm of Jersey City-based China Construction America (CCA), has secured a $70 million loan to finance its River Club at Hudson Park development in Yonkers, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Newmark Knight Frank arranged the loan from investment giant Guggenheim Partners on behalf of Strategic Capital. The Hudson Park project covers 16 acres of Yonkers waterfront. Earlier this year, Strategic Capital began leasing at the River Club, a 213-unit luxury rental building located at 63 Wells Avenue that opened its doors in May. Units in the building start at $1,720 for studios, $2,190 for one-bedrooms and $2,870 for two-bedrooms. The River Club has a garage with room for 206 vehicles, an indoor pool, a fitness center, a rooftop lounge and 24-7 concierge services. The River Club’s opening was hailed as an example of U.S.-China cooperation at a time of heightened tensions between both countries. Strategic Capital’s parent, CCA, is itself a subsidiary of Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation. [DVP] —Brian Baxter

Trumbull co-working space signs its first two tenants
A new co-working space in Trumbull has signed its first pair of leases, the Daily Voice Plus reported. The CoLab@55 Merritt, which opened its doors earlier this year, has inked a one-year lease for 2,500 square feet with e-commerce distribution startup Heir Logic and a five-year lease for 6,200 square feet with Graystone Advertising Group, leasing agent Colliers International told the outlet. Norwalk-based Levco Mechanical Group, owner of the co-working space, originally intended to gear the space toward tradesmen and craftsmen. While that’s still the case, the group decided to branch out to include other tenants as well, Colliers client services coordinator Tim Johnson told the DVP. “Our message has evolved to where we’re talking with local companies of all types,” he said. “It’s flexible enough to allow any company to flourish and grow.” CoLab@55, which is based out of a 110,000-square-foot former Unilever data center at 55 Merritt Boulevard, is now in talks with several other prospective tenants. The Real Deal reported earlier this year on co-working’s expansion in the markets around New York City. [DVP]

Mamaroneck project’s environmental review could end soon
The environmental review process for a proposed development in Mamaroneck may finally wrap up after nearly four years, the Daily Voice Plus reported. Hampshire Recreation wants to build 105 residential units — including 64 carriage homes — on 29 acres at the Hampshire Country Club, according to the outlet. The proposal would reduce the club’s 18-hole golf course to nine holes. The review process started in 2015, but has yet to be completed due to concerns about the effects the development might have on flooding in the area. David Cooper, an attorney for Hampshire at Zarin & Steinmetz in White Plains, maintained in an April letter that his client has addressed all of the Mamaroneck’s Planning Board’s concerns about the project. “We are hopeful, cautiously optimistic, that this is the last round,” he told the DVP. “We believe the board already has all of the facts that it needs to render a decision.” [DVP]

Report shows ‘mixed results’ for Westchester home sales
Residential sales in Westchester County were up in the second quarter of 2019, but “price trend indicators showed mixed results,” according to a new market report from Douglas Elliman. The median sales price for the county increased by 1.5 percent year-over-year, to $533,000, and countywide sales rose for the fourth straight quarter. The number of sales rose 14.5 percent, year-over-year, to 2,495, although the average sales price fell 0.4 percent, to $674,142. Listing inventory rose by 1.7 percent, to 4,511, and homes spent an average of 80 days on the market, down from 81 days in the second quarter of 2018. Sales in the $800,000 to $1 million range saw the largest annual sales growth, per Elliman data. Jonathan Miller, head of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report, told The Real Deal that the Westchester “market feels faster than what we’ve seen over the last decade,” but of course challenges remain. While the median sales price in the single-family market remained at $700,000, and the number of sales spiked 14.3 percent, to 1,508, the luxury market continued to lag. The median sales price in the luxury sector slipped 5.4 percent, to $2.15 million, and the luxury price threshold fell by 5.6 percent, to $1.6 million, according to the report. [TRD]

Office building in Trumbull’s Commerce Center sells for $2M
An unidentified buyer shelled out $2 million for an office building in Trumbull’s Commerce Center, the Daily Voice Plus reported. New Canaan-based Cambridge Hanover sold the 15,000-square-foot, three-story building, which will serve as the buyer’s new corporate headquarters. Newmark Knight Frank senior managing director Tim Rorick, managing director Torey Walsh and associate Jack McDermott brokered the sale. “Commerce Center’s flexibility is unrivaled, and the park’s ability to adapt and be reconfigured to satisfy the needs of all types of users is tremendous,” said a statement from Rorick, adding that the location of the building “makes it a marquee site for any corporate headquarters.” The building at 60 Commerce Drive is connected to another three-story office building and a warehouse, according to the DVP. The development once served as the U.S. headquarters of Japanese pen manufacturer Pilot Pen. Avison Young principal and managing director Sean Cahill represented the buyer, according to NKF. [DVP]

Tiny historic Mamaroneck home lists for first time in decades
A miniature home in Mamaroneck known as the “Skinny House” has hit the market for the first time in 35 years, LoHud reported. The 533-square-foot home, which has one bedroom and one bathroom, landed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 2015. Nathan Seely, one of New York’s first African American home builders, constructed the home in 1932 after he lost his business and his own home during the Great Depression. Seely’s granddaughter, Julie Seely, wrote a 2011 screenplay about the home and recently published a memoir about the property and her family. The Skinny House’s current owner, Nancy Picarello, is seeking $275,000 for the home at 175 Grand Street. “We felt it was time to let it go in hopes that someone would buy it and take care of it and love it as much as we do,” she told the DVP. The home has high ceilings, “lots of natural light, a separate basement and “clever built-ins throughout,” according to the outlet. Houlihan Lawrence’s Paulo Guerra has the listing. [LoHud]

CORRECTION: A previous version of the final paragraph had the wrong square footage and address.