Nursing home overhaul approved
Greenwich officials approved more than $20 million in renovations for the Nathaniel Witherell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, which the town has owned for more than a century.
The center has some 200 beds. In 2004, the town considered a plan to raze the building and replace it at a cost of $46 million, but beginning in 2006 opted for the more modest renovation.
Greenwich hopes to repay bonds issued on the project through a combination of third-party revenues such as Medicare and Medicaid, and through a capital campaign the center”™s board plans to undertake.
Sotheby”™s expands Greenwich presence
Sotheby”™s International Realty reportedly acquired Cleveland, Duble & Arnold, a Greenwich residential real estate brokerage that traces its history back more than a century.
The companies did not disclose financial terms. Some 25 Cleveland, Duble & Arnold agents will join Sotheby”™s Greenwich office at 1 Pickwick Plaza.
“We weren”™t growing,” said Tom Gorin, CEO of Cleveland, Duble & Arnold as quoted by The Real Deal. “Not many people are using the term ”˜Cleveland”™ to search for Greenwich real estate.”
Greenwich hikes rail parking
Greenwich is increasing its commuter rail parking rates 20 percent to $540, according to the Greenwich Time, with the hikes set to kick in next October.
An annual permit at Greenwich Plaza will cost $540, while other lots will carry a price of $335. Town officials attributed the decision in part to permit-holders no longer using their spaces daily coupled with long waiting lists for available spots.
Urstadt Biddle buys Westchester property
Through a subsidiary, Greenwich-based Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. bought the Eastchester Plaza Shopping Center in Westchester County, N.Y.
CVS is the primary tenant at the plaza, which totals 23,000 square feet of space.
“We are encouraged by the prospects we continue to see for additional acquisitions in our marketplace and hope the acquisition momentum will continue,” said Win Biddle, president of the real estate investment trust.
Blyth recalibrates after big year
Blyth Inc. earned $800,000 in its fiscal third quarter ending Oct. 31, a third its profits of a year ago even as sales rose by a third to $220 million.
Through PartyLite and other brands, the Greenwich-based company uses networks of home-based agents to sell home goods, foods and nutritional supplements, among other items.
Blyth intends to change its fiscal year to a traditional Jan. 1 starting date, as it divests wholesale businesses to focus on its retail channels. Blyth was on track to close the calendar year with the second-best stock gain of any Fairfield County company.
Weber chairs chamber a second year
Jeff Weber is chairman of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce a second year, after leading the search for a new executive director that resulted in the 2011 hiring of Marcia O”™Kane to fill the post.
Until recently, Weber was executive vice president of Blue Star Media, which airs the WGCH radio station and the Business TalkRadio Network.
