Two shop front units in the new “Heritage Square” condominium complex on Forest Street sold for a combined $2.9 million this week.
Embody occupies the commercial space at 21 Forest St. in the foreground here, Pet Valu the space in the distance. Credit: Michael Dinan
The street-level commercial spaces are occupied by Embody Fitness Gourmet and Pet Valu. According to a property transfer recorded Tuesday in the Town Clerk’s office, a newly formed company called ‘Connor Rose Realty Inc.’ purchased the units from Forest Street Properties, builder Chris Gatto’s company. An Upper East Side man, Patrick Mitchell, is listed in Connecticut Secretary of the State records as principal of the new property owner.
***
New Canaan High School officials said in a bulletin for parents this week that they’re seeing a rise in the number of student smoking e-cigarettes—or “vaping”—in school. “We are always concerned for the well being of our students and want them to make good choices. It is important to know that any student caught vaping will be suspended from school for a period of 5 school days,” the bulletin said.
Front-and-back photos of Town Hall’s 2016 1st-Place “ugly Christmas sweater” winner Janice Bouton.
***
Congratulations to Janice Bouton, clerk in the New Canaan tax collector’s office, on winning first place in Town Hall‘s annual “ugly Christmas sweater” contest.
Held Tuesday, the contest is said to have drawn wide participation from Main Street luminaries, including First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and Chief Building Official Brian Platz. Cheryl Pickering-Jones, director of human resources for the town, could be seen in an unsightly black number during the Board of Selectmen meeting.
Some of Town Hall’s 2016 “ugly Christmas sweater” contest hopefuls, L-R: Carla DeLucia, Debra Katz (2nd-place winner), Jen Eielson, Lola Sweeney, and Tracey Pizzolato (kneeling).
Earning second-place honors was Debra Katz, administrative assistant in the Health Department.
***
The popular New Canaan Farmers’ Market will expand its season next year in the Center School Parking Lot downtown, and will not run a “winter market” as in years past. The market downtown, running 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, will go from April 22 through December, following a unanimous vote by the Board of Selectmen this week.
***
One set of neighbors opposing Grace Farms’ application for an amended permit have launched a website that includes a summary and documents related to their arguments.
***
The town’s Recreation Department saw a 4 percent year-over-year rise in fall program revenue, Assistant Rec Director Bill Kapp reported last week. Here are some of the individual programs that saw a bump in 2016, according to his report:
Town Rec Fall Program Increases, Year-over-Year
| Program | Increase |
|---|---|
| Youth Soccer K-6 | 60% |
| Youth Fall Tennis Instruction | 12% |
| Youth Golf Instruction | 20% |
| Halloween Pumpkin Painting Party | 7% |
| Youth Fall Paddle Clinics | 29% |
| Halloween Family Fun Night | 36% |
| Youth Flag Football | 20% |
| Saxe Strings Band | 10% |
Holiday ornaments and decorations at design solutions at 146 Elm St. in New Canaan are 50% off. Credit: Michael Dinan
***
Spotlighting some holiday season specials from our advertisers:
- Weed & Duryea is offering 30 to 50 percent off of select Christmas items.
- Christmas ornaments and decorations at design solutions at 146 Elm St. are 50 percent off starting Friday.
- The Sneddon Team, with partner Kara Woods—owner of Stage to Move and RESPA’s Stager of the Year—is offering a complimentary staging consultation prior to listing for all new clients. Contact the Sneddon Team at 203-219-3769 or sneddonteam@halstead.com.
- Halo Fitness at Halo Studios: $1 a day for 2017—a $365 annual membership, available through Dec. 31.
- Sama Yoga at Halo Studios: Five yoga classes for $100—visit the studio or Sama Yoga website to purchase.
- Nearwater Pilates at Halo Studios: 10 pilates classes for $150. Contact Nancy to purchase, at nhloch5@gmail.com.
- Also: 5 percent of all purchases made at Sama Yoga in December will be donated to the Inner-City Foundation of Education & Charity, and a donation will be made to Midnight Run of NYC by Pryority Wellness for every purchase in December.
***
Finally, here’s a gallery spotlighting other news from around town:
permalink
New Canaan resident Sheila Clemente was the winner of the iWatch prize raffled off by Bankwell at the Holiday Boutique and Charity Event presented by the Women's Networking Group of Fairfield County on November 9th. Bankwell was a sponsor of the event and Ms. Clemente is shown in attached photo with Bankwell in New Canaan Branch Manager Peter Olson.
permalink
Sama Yoga spent several days over there these last two weeks teaching yoga to every single student at New Canaan Country School. Separate classes were also offered for faculty members. Every person at New Canaan Country School had an opportunity to do yoga during the school day—and had a lot of fun.
permalink
Here’s a photo of Henry Chandra, Lucas Tecklenburg, Jack Puente and Christian Puente (not pictured but also participating were Andrew Burr, Connor Hahn and Matthew Reed) of the '08 Boys Red NC Football Club soccer team, who shopped with their own money to purchase gifts for kids in need through Hungry Kidzz. They bought games, arts and crafts and holiday treats to be distributed at local food kitchens. The boys came together to wrap the gifts and fill the stockings. They filled 25 stockings in total.