By James Lomuscio

Representatives of Bridgewater Associates, the Westport-based international hedge fund, tonight presented themselves as environmental stewards in a pre-application for the redevelopment of the 21.7-acre corporate campus at 1 Glendinning Plkace and 25 Ford Road.

A Bridgewater Associates parking lot at its Glendenning headquarters flooded in a March 2011 storm. Proposed improvements are intended to allieviate the flooding potential. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Neil Engler for WestportNow.com

The pre-application came almost a year after the company, Westport’s largest employer, said it was abandoning plans to move to Stamford, first announced two years earlier. (See WestportNow June 27, 2014) Bridgewater employs 1,500 persons in Westport at multiple locations.

Landscape architect Wesley Stout detailed plans about removing 170 paved parking spaces, “two acres of paving,” near confluences of the Saugatuck and Aspetuck Rivers, “and burying them into a parking garage.”

“We will excavate and create two levels underneath the current surface and put a green roof on top,” he said.

By Judy Szablak

Do not ever underestimate the power of professional photography along with staging your home for sale in Westport.

Featured Home: This home at 11 Partrick Lane is listed at $1,199,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Raveis-Westport / Amaru and Associates

We hear a lot about staging your home for the market, and with good reason. Properly executed preparation helps to sell a home. However, a beautifully staged home with poor marketing photography is almost a waste of time and energy.

In other words, it’s not that cut-and-dry to just stage your home. The photos that are utilized in online or offline advertising also matter a great deal.

But sometimes, a home just cannot be as easily prepped for sale as agents or homeowners would like. There will be some level of uncomfortable disruption when you actually live in the home, and have excess items that just cannot easily be removed or changed.

One segment that is clear to be performing well continues to be newly built homes, which experienced almost 10 percent growth in unit sales and volume from the first quarter of 2014.

The average price of the new construction homes that have closed thus far in 2015 is approximately $3.05 million. On average, one could expect that this price range would enable you to purchase a 13-room home with five bedrooms, which is approximately 6,500-square feet in size.

Market Stats

There is a 5 percent increase in inventory over last week, and as of today, there are now 295 homes that are are actively on the market. These currently available properties have been listed for an average of 113 days, with a cumulative market time of 213 days.

The average list price is $2,429,144 and the median price is at $1,995,000.

A four-bedroom home on Beachside Avenue on 7.13 acres is the highest priced home for sale at $22 million, and the lowest available priced home is a three-bedroom home on Crescent Park Road for $368,000.

Twenty-three new listings came on the market in the last seven days, and one property came back on the market after being under deposit, or temporarily withdrawn. Fifteen properties had a price change.

Nine properties have gone under the initial deposit stage, which we call CTS, and five properties went into pending status, which means that the conditions have been satisfied, and the property is scheduled to close.

The average price of those five properties was $2,462,064. There are currently 26 homes in CTS status throughout Westport, and another 45 properties scheduled to close town-wide, with an average price of $1,762,292.

Closings: There was one single family home reported as sold in the last week, and was listed at $849,000, with a market time of 97 days. There were 57 status changes in the last seven days.

Condos: There are nine condominiums that are available, and they have been listed an average of 57 days, with a cumulative market time of 71 days. Their average listing price is $719,089 and the median price is $559,900.

The highest priced condo in town is $1.3 million and is a three-bedroom home located at Terra Nova Circle, and the lowest priced unit for sale is a one-bedroom home at Whitney Glen for $380,000.

There were no new listings, and no homes came back on the market after being under deposit. There was one price change, and one property entered into the initial stage of deposit. No homes entered into pending status.

There are three properties town-wide that are currently in CTS status, and there are no homes scheduled to close.

No sales were reported during the last week. There were three status changes.

Rentals: If you are interested in renting year round, either furnished or unfurnished, there are 38 homes or apartments available. The median price is $4,150 per month and the average price is $5,304 per month.

These year-round rental opportunities have been on the market an average of 74 days.

There are 30 short-term rental opportunities that are available, and they have been on the market an average of 51 days. Their average price is $13,495 and the median price is $8,000.

Please note that seasonal rental prices are sometimes listed as an aggregate price for the season, or they can be listed as per the monthly rental cost.

Source: Market Data is compiled from the GFC-CMLS and represents activity through our local MLS system. Private sales are not included in these statistics

Featured Home

This home at 14 Woody Lane is listed at $3,595,000.

This six-bedroom shingle-style colonial is simply extraordinary in design, and has outstanding appointments throughout.

Its modern and sophisticated open floor plan was designed by Pagliaro Bartels Sajda Architects, and newly built by Able Construction. Exuding a level of luxury, beauty and casual elegance in every square inch, this home exudes a cosmopolitan flair in each of its 13 rooms and includes 7,850-square feet of living area.

On a level one-acre lot, and with a commanding presence on a sought after street in the Long Lots school district, this sun-filled home has a sophisticated design and a seamless flow from the indoor living areas to outside.

The foyer features a superbly designed sun-drenched staircase tower and is open to the living room, which has a modern styled fireplace.

A glass partitioned dining room is the epitome of serenity and chic, and overlooks the beautifully landscaped rear yard and pool through two sets of over-sized sliding glass doors to the blue-stone patio.

The contemporary-styled gourmet kitchen has stunning custom cabinetry with marble counters and back-splash, along with Miele stainless steel appliances. The center island has a sleek concrete counter-top, and the adjoining breakfast nook is located in the rear turret with soaring two-story ceiling.

The open flow continues with the family room, which has a vaulted and beamed ceiling with another concrete fireplace.

The main level study with wet bar and wine fridge has marble counters, and sliding barn door style entry.

Upstairs, the master bedroom suite has 11-foot high ceilings, a dressing room, and a custom-designed walk-in closet. The sumptuous bath has an over-sized thermostatic shower with hand held sprays and rain heads, as well as a freestanding soaking tub, and separate water closet.

Four additional bedrooms are on this level and each are en suite.

The third floor includes a finished playroom/bonus area, and the finished lower level has another bedroom, full bath, and a separate playroom area.

Sophisticated yet casual, elegant and exceptionally livable.

Schools - Long Lots, Bedford, Staples.

Extras and items to note - seven full and one-half baths, three fireplaces, wide planked white oak flooring, security system, lower level with over 1,300-square feet of living area, heated Gunite pool and spa.

Annual taxes have yet to be determined.

Listing/photo courtesy of The Riverside Realty Group/Lieberman and Associates.

(Editor’s Note: Judy Szablak of Coldwell Banker Westport - Riverside, Fairfield County CT Realtor since 1984 is author of “The Art of Buying or Selling a Home,” and featured on HGTV’s real estate show, “Desperate to Buy.” Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit her online at http://www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com.