Obama Nominates Black Conservative To Supreme Court

Justice Janice Rogers Brown

Taking friend and foe alike completely by surprise, the President announced this afternoon at a White House press conference that he was nominating D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Janice Rogers Brown to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by the death of Judge Antonin Scalia.

“To replace a true Constitutional scholar with yet another stooge that will rubber-stamp any expansion of government I can dream up is unfair to at least half the US population so, dammit, I’m just not going to do it.” the President told a packed room of reporters.

“Judge Brown has, to my way of thinking, a quaint, even antiquated view that the Constitution actually has meaning and importance. Obviously she and I completely disagree on this, but her voice, her point of view, deserves to be heard on the Supreme Court, so today I nominate her to that position, and I expect a quick confirmation from my friends in the Senate.”

Concluding his remarks, the President refused to take any questions from reporters and instead, ran around the room yelling “February Fool’s Day! February Fool’s Day!” until Secret Service personnel wrestled him to the ground. He was later admitted to George Washington University Hospital for observation. No further details available.

 

 

 

90 Club Road, Riverside, CT

90 Club Road, view looking west towards the harbor. Here’s a link to the short aerial video.

I listed 90 Club Road last week for $7,000,000. It is 1.36 acres in the one-acre zone. There is a perfectly nice house on the property, quite livable by my standards but, like almost everything else that has sold in and around Club Road lately, it’s a likely “land” sale.

I grew up on the adjacent Gilliam Lane and back then, all of us certainly appreciated Club Road but no one would have imagined this level of popularity!

For context, here are the prices of recent house sales on Club Road and vicinity, all within five properties of my new listing, all immediately torn down:

73 Club Road     $9,500,000.

95 Club Road     $6,755,000.

74 Club Road     $6,565,000.

45 Gilliam Lane: $6,250,000.

100 Club Road:  $4,250,000.

42 Gilliam Lane: $3,760,000.

58 Club Road:    $3,500,000.

My listing at 32 Gilliam Lane, on .69 acres, also a likely tear-down, now has a deal in the low $2M’s.

At the top of the street, 11 Club Road, a spectacular Victorian, sold for $6,025,000 and (hooray!) was not torn down but instead underwent a year-long renovation.

11 Club Road, a beautiful 1893 Victorian, sells for $6.025M.

The highest price paid on Club Road for a finished house was 35 Club Road, which got $8,675,000 when it was new, and $8,450,000 the next time around.

What’s the street’s potential? I think most brokers would agree that the new Shope Reno-designed, Sound Beach Partners-built mansion at 73 Club Road would easily get $20,000,000 if it were put on the market.

 

 

 

Reader Comments, Love ‘Em/Hate ‘Em

In response to my post about condo sales off Steamboat Road, I received the following comment from a reader (and fellow blogger, no less!)

Years ago we looked at some high end in-town condos (“Arbor Rose” something?) and while very pretty, I was APPALLED at the Elaine-Benes-style dance that residents had to perform, jockeying for parking. Heaven forbid you entertain – and I watched the UPS truck TRY and turn around – talk about back up beeping. I get the concept of these condos (although I am diametrically opposed to any development having a NAME), but for my $5m I’d rather not be told my Jaguar is in the way of your Maserati and would I kindly move it or else….. Perfectly reasonable comment, do you not agree? But it required a bit of editing, in my opinion, and frankly I’m still not happy with that reference to Elaine Benes. Is the Seinfeld character Elaine Benes that well known? Is she the Ralph Kramden of a younger generation? Not sure. Anyway, I committed, first, the unpardonable sin of editing, then compounded the offense by forgetting to press the “approve” button. So what did the [fellow blogger] do? the [fellow blogger] runs over to my brother’s blog and complains! Here’s the [fellow blogger’s] complaint: Never met the guy so I can’t retort but it was like my comment wasn’t good enough for his readers so he edited it – adding words, hyphenating words, then, after some thought, he decided the entire tone of the comment didn’t suit his sensibilities. Okay, his blog, his choice, but then why edit my words? Why not just assign my comment to the trash bin? I never edit someone’s comment (except when it’s obvious there’s a typo). I repeat, very farquatious. There is no such word as farquatious so I certainly would have edited that right outta there, had I the option. But never mind, isn’t it a bit rich, a fellow blogger complaining on still another blog, about not getting a comment published on my blog? Silly, dopey, and…silly.

The Cheapest House In Greenwich

107 Halstead Avenue (way, w-a-a-ay west, mere inches from the Port Chester line, fetches $340,000!

Too late, this baby has sold! Still, it amazes me you can get an actual house in this town for well under $400,000. And it’s not like this one got snapped up.

Nope, it came on for $419,000 back in July, got one big price reduction in November, down to $350,000, made a deal in January, and has now closed at the bargain price of $340,000.

I suppose out-of-towners would smirk at my use of the word “bargain” for this charming little dump on .18 acres, but gosh-darned it, it sounds cheap, doesn’t it??

Listed by: James O’Brien

Sold by:  Richard Breglia

Alternative link to 107 Halstead Avenue

(Listing office Raveis)

Condo Sales Success On Steamboat/Oneida

One of the pricier units (closed at $5.650M) at 2 Oneida Drive, aka “Manero’s parking lot”. All eleven units sold instantly. Listing broker: Michele Tesei.

Unlike stocks, you cannot easily “short” a developer, and that’s a good thing, in the case of builder John Fareri, because you would lose money betting against him!

Fareri and team appeared to have a hard time initially getting the first phase of this project (development of the old Manero’s Restaurant land) sold, but that had more to do with the US government-caused real estate meltdown of 2008.

The next phase, eleven more luxury condos, some direct waterfront, completely sold out before they were even half finished. Named “The Harbor At Greenwich”, it’s located at the corner of Steamboat Road and Oneida Drive, across from the Delamar Hotel.  Prices ranged from $3,325,000 to $5,650,000.

I recall taking a client to the site many months ago. At the time, it was just a muddy field with the bare beginnings of site work.  My client wasn’t impressed and confidently predicted, “They’ll never get these prices!”  The client was terribly, terribly wrong.

Here’s the website: The Harbor At Greenwich

Here’s an alternative link to some of the listings: 2 Oneida Drive

Trouble At Cinderella

  
Yeah, I know, it’s called Citarella, of course! Great store, come here every day, amazing food. Computers? Well, today not so much…

The system is down and a large line of black-coated customers (some sort of Greenwich fashion law, I think) are now standing around getting madder and madder!

1 Sinawoy Road, Darien, CT

1 Sinawoy Road, Darien, CT, now reduced to $3.995M. Listed by Nancy Dauk at Halstead.

What, Darien again?? Well dammit, I can’t help it if the most picturesque properties happen to be in Darien. I don’t plan on moving there, but if I did, it would be to a place like this one.

Flip through the pictures, see if you agree. I particularly like the grounds with the willow trees, the river, the meadow, all idyllic, if you ask me. The pool’s nice, too, although the mysterious silver balls floating in it remind me strangely of that old British drama, “The Prisoner”.

Oh, and look at the library: real, actual books, can you imagine? Maybe they were placed there by the decorator, but I like to think the owners have actually read them, wouldn’t that be quaint!

 

P.S. Yes, I know that in Greenwich it would be an instant tear-down, thank you.

1 Sinawoy (alternative link)