In New Canaan there are currently 18 spaces listed for lease online of which 10 publish rental rates ranging from $21 to $47 per square foot (triple net). Triple net means that rate does not include utilities, taxes, or expenses. The least expensive listing seems to be 925 square feet on the second floor over Connecticut Muffin on Main Street while the most expensive is in the former New Canaan Bank space next to the train station. According to the Chamber of Commerce this is a typical number of rental listings.

There are 12 buildings listed for sale and 6 of them publish an asking price. The smallest is a 1000-square foot office condo at 39 Pine Street, asking $650,000 ($650 per foot) and a 4,375 commercial condominium zoned for retail at 21 Forest Street asking $2.65 million or $605 per foot. The retail and office building at 112 Main Street, home of Connecticut Muffin, is 18,536 square feet and asking $6,350,000 or $342 per foot. The 18,000 square foot office building at 49-51 Locust Ave. asks $6.5 million, or $348 per foot. According to commercial broker Choyce Peterson (phone 203-356-9600) there are 4 others available not listed online: 199 Elm Street, 161 Cherry Street, 65 Locust Ave and 72 Park Street (10,298 feet asking $3.6 million). The largest listing publishing an asking price is the collection of 9 buildings on 13 parcels known as The Cross Street Portfolio, asking $40 million or $1,151 per foot on 2.57 acres. One of the buildings, 22 Vitti Street, home of World Champion Taekwondo, is also offered individually for $5,195,000 or $707 per foot.

The development of such a large parcel captures the public’s imagination. What can be done on 2.57 acres in the downtown? According to the Cross & Vitti Master Plan, Final Report, published October 2015 and available on the town website, identifying 21 properties on 5.73 acres where the average building size is 3,131 feet, the report recommends the town revise the zoning regulations for this district, institute design guidelines and make investments in streetscape improvements. I thought the ideas for decked parking in this district were particularly intriguing. This plan is worth re-considering within the context of our need for affordable housing and current work being done on the Plan of Conservation & Development.

A second study followed a year later for the commercial redevelopment of Grove Street, also known as Zone D, in June 2016. For about 70 years we’ve been talking about decking the lumberyard. (There are beautiful watercolor renderings of what that might look like in the Town Planner’s office.) But, the 2016 Zone D study ignores the lumberyard in order to imagine what greater efficiencies could be gained by redeveloping the private properties across the street. Of note, the ACME supermarket is replaced with what appears to be a new apartment building in their immense parking lot. The TD Bank is also replaced with housing along Elm and Grove Streets, with parking behind. I found this particularly interesting given the application last month to turn what was formerly TD Bank into an electric car dealership, making only minor changes to the physical building.

If approved it will be the second electric car dealership. In November Planning & Zoning approved plans for a Polestar electric car dealership in the former Merrill Lynch building at Pine and Park Streets, a building which sold last January for $2 million.

Finally, in Q4, Choyce Peterson informs me leases were written for space at 107 Cherry Street, 108-118 Main Street (1,649 feet, asking $50), and 31 Vitti Street (1,560 feet, asking $48).

Are developers developing? Yes, they are. New Canaan’s Plannning & Zoning approved Thomas Sanseverino’s bid for multifamily housing on Husted Lane back in March 2020. The first phase of that project began in August 2022 and appears to be nearing completion with twelve 2-bedroom apartments in the green and shingle building pictured. The project includes 315 feet of commercial space. We expect a second phase to follow, as the developer has developed only 2 of the 4 contiguous parcels he owns there.

More recently, Planning & Zoning approved “Quartier”, a 70,000 foot, 25-unit development on Burtis Avenue and Cherry Street. Purchased in 2021 for $6.1 million, the lot is .72 acre. Proposed in January 2022 the developer gained approvals in September 2022. Significantly, in addition to housing, in addition to a 4-unit affordable housing set- aside, it is exciting to see the addition of several businesses, both new and familiar to the Burtis Avenue neighborhood. The Red Grape was first, opening in January 2022. The New Canaan Butcher followed in April. A new French bakery La Parisienne is planned at 5 Burtis and Zumbachs Coffee will be opening a second location at 22 Burtis. (But where will all the cool cars park, Doug?) Once the project gained its approvals the project was briefly listed for sale online, but I understand that the project is moving forward now with the original developer. Conclusion: New Canaan’s commercial district is the envy of Fairfield County: picturesque, walkable, and varied. But, the district is always evolving. New businesses are moving in, buildings are selling and leases are turning over. Developers like to accuse New Canaan of being stuck in the past, unwilling to change, but it seems to me that change is all around us.

John Engel is a Realtor on the Engel Team at Douglas Elliman. This week’s column is dedicated to two friends and Elm Street neighbors we lost this year. Bailey Stewart of Walter Stewarts passed last May after running the market for over 45 years. I worked for him in 1983 (before scanners). This week we lost another titan, Leo Karl Jr. who ran Karl Chevrolet for 40 years and retired after selling me a 1996 Blazer. I write this in what was a Karl Buick dealership. New Canaan will miss you both.

Check out John Engel’s Podcast, Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation here.