Much of Old Greenwich’s downtown, owned by the Nolan, Thomas families for decades, is up for

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Members of an old family trust that owns a large portion of the businesses and residences in Old Greenwich have made an agreement to sell them all at a price tag that could fall in the $25 million range, according to the real-estate broker handling the sale. 

George Boles was a major property-owner and early developer of the Old Greenwich business district in the early part of the 20th century. The current businesses on Sound Beach Avenue and Arcadia Road were built beginning in 1920, according to newspaper accounts from the period. The Stamford Advocate reported regularly on Boles’ construction of the “business block” of Old Greenwich in the fall of 1920, with updates on its progress.

Three large parcels in Old Greenwich along Sound Beach Avenue and Arcadia Road are due to be sold, depicted in blue on this map. A warehouse is also part of the sales package. 

Marcus & Millichap

Boles died in 1944 without children of his own, according to his news obituary. His heirs, a large number of nieces and nephews, members of the Nolan and Thomas families, maintained ownership of the properties for decades.

Stephen Westerberg, a real-estate executive, said the family members had decided that the time had come to sell the properties. The Nolan family members are living in the Midwest and are absentee owners, using a management company to run their holdings in Old Greenwich, he said.  

Westerberg said the sale was in the marketing stages with promotional flyers planned to go out in December. Confidentiality agreements would be issued for privileged information about the properties to potential buyers with offers that could be reviewed in coming weeks, he said. 

Some 47,000 square feet of property will be on the market, Westerberg said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The real-estate executive said the holdings encompass four buildings with 10 residential apartments, 10 office suites and 17 retail store fronts, including an 11,226-square-foot single-story warehouse. 

Westerberg said the goal was for the entire portfolio to be sold off as a whole, though there were no pre-conditions at this point.

John Nolan, one of the seven owners, said this week, “What we have done is that we decided to offer the property for sale in order to determine what potential buyers would offer. … After examining whatever offers are presented to us, the families would then make a decision as to whether to conclude a sale. In other words, the market’s response will help us reach a final conclusion.”

The land holdings include three separate parcels, according to Westerberg, a Greenwich resident who works with the Marcus & Millichap real estate firm. One long strip along Sound Beach Avenue includes a butcher shop, a barber shop, a sushi restaurant, a jewelry store, an art gallery, a sewing business, a children’s store, a women’s clothing store and a bank.

Another section on Arcadia encompasses a real estate business, an optical store, a deli, a dry cleaner and a fitness studio. A third small parcel includes two small businesses next to the Berkshire Hathaway real estate business.

The parcels also include a number of residential units above the stores. A warehouse behind Sound Beach Avenue used for storage — another component of the properties — could be redeveloped into another use, he said.

A number of the businesses in the Nolan and Thomas portfolio were renovated in 2018. 

Westerberg said Old Greenwich was going through a transformation, and the upcoming sale was tied into that.

“Old Greenwich is entering a Renaissance as a new culinary destination for all of Greenwich, Stamford and beyond,” he said. “With Sound Beach Avenue as the main thoroughfare to Greenwich Point, Old Greenwich is drawing consumers from a broad geographical radius, greatly benefiting the areas retail establishments and the allure of ‘in-town’ living. Old Greenwich has a small-town feel, yet it’s highly sophisticated and is internationally diverse.”

The real-estate executive said the construction of the Station House at 143 Sound Beach Ave., with 34 new apartment and rents ranging from $7,700 to $13,800 a month, will draw an upscale consumer base to the business district, known locally as the Village.

The properties are listed under the ownership of Nolan Thomas Properties LLC, according to tax filings at Town Hall. Other members of the Nolan family have been associated with the properties through the past two decades.

News of the impeding sale and what it could mean for the retail corridor has some local merchants worried.

Lisa Salley, at the Something Special flower shop, which is not part of the Nolan and Thomas holdings, said, “I’m concerned about over development. Small-town USA, that’s us. Let’s keep that feeling here. And parking is tough enough already.”

Richard Fulton, who owns Chillybear clothing and sporting goods store and heads the Old Greenwich Merchants Association, said many retailers in the area were concerned about the shortage of parking in the area.

“We look forward to new businesses moving in,” he said. “But there will be a greater parking demand that could cause problems.” 

Fulton said there was also anxiety among small-business owners in the district over rising rental rates — he had heard of one store owner whose monthly rent had doubled from $3,500 to $7,000. 

There was also a concern about the character of the community, Fulton said.

“It’s quaint, it’s wonky, it’s not perfect,” he said, adding he felt most people in Old Greenwich liked it that way.

Correction: This story has been updated to include another branch of George Boles’ family and to clarify the decision to sell will depend on the offers made.