New Canaan Chamber Of Commerce Announces 12th Annual Holiday Stroll

The 12th Annual Holiday Stroll, presented by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, will be held in the village center from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. As is the tradition of this highly anticipated, free kick-off to the holiday season in New Canaan, Friday evening will feature the arrival of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, who will help us officially kick off the holiday season! Residents of all ages and backgrounds gather on New Canaan’s Elm Street, which is closed to traffic, to enjoy the festivities: singing Christmas carols and enjoying musical performances by the Students of the Studio, Performing Arts Conservatory, The New Canaan Dance Academy, Saxe Saxaphones and the Magical Music Singers.

‘Heritage Square’: New Units on Forest Street Are Selling, Bucking 2015 Trend in Condos

Five of the seven new condominiums going up on Forest Street downtown are in various stages of being sold—bucking an overall trend among New Canaan condos and a nod to the strength of new construction in this buyer’s market, Realtors say. Located above what will be street-level retail in a mixed-use development near the corner of Locust Avenue that’s been named ‘Heritage Square,’ the condos include four 2- and 3-bedroom units in the 1,800- to 2,000-square-foot range, two 4-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot penthouses and a 3,500-plus-square-foot “duplex” that encompasses two floors, according to Bill Hecker of Houlihan Lawrence, sole agent representing seller/developer Chris Gatto. Just two of the smaller-sized 3-bedroom units are available—they’re listed at $1.8 million—and the condos should be move-in ready next spring, Hecker said. “This to me is a really good sign because there is not a whole lot you can see there right now,” Hecker told NewCanaanite.com. “You can see the structure but if you walked into any of the units it’s just studs—there’s no drywall in yet, so for the buyer to envision what is being delivered is a very big challenge on the part of myself and Christopher Gatto, the developer.

Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan’s annual ceremony honoring and remembering those lost in the Sept, 11, 2001 terrorist attacks will return to the front steps of Town Hall this Friday, Sept. 11 at 9:55 a.m. Attendees are welcome to join town officials for refreshments following the ceremony, at the New Canaan Firehouse across Main Street, Fire Marshal Fred Baker tells us. ***

Congratulations to 2002 NCHS grad Katherine Pembrook Avgerinos, looking beautiful in these photos on occasion of her July 5 marriage to Ivan Jose Docampo Esmoris in Glyfada, Greece. Here are excerpts from the wedding notice, supplied by her mom:

The Rev. Harold E. Masback, III, former senior minister of the Congregational Church of New Canaan, officiated at the service.        

The bride is the daughter of Michael and Linda Avgerinos, formerly of New Canaan and now residing in Norwalk. The bridegroom is the son of Hilario and Maria Jesus Docampo of Carballo, Spain, in the northeast region of Galicia.

Condo Sales Surge in New Canaan

New Canaan in 2014 saw what experts are calling a record number of condominiums and cooperatives sold, and those that came in at above-asking price increased ninefold over the prior year. In 2014, New Canaan saw 79 condos sold (the figure includes 10 non-MLS sales)—a 25 percent increase from the prior year, according to a local Realtor who’s been tracking MLS and non-MLS sales data since 1989. And among those 79 units, nine were sold above asking price, compared to just one in 2013, said Jeanne Rozel of Halstead Property, a New Canaan resident for 40 years. They’re statistics that Rozel said “shocked” her when she compiled the data. “I can’t figure this out,” Rozel said.