JTRE buys retail condo at Victor Homes’ 241 Fifth Avenue

Midtown-based developer and brokerage JTRE has scooped up the ground-floor retail condominium at 241 Fifth Avenue from Wall, N.J.-based homebuilder Victor Homes for $6.8 million, brokers told The Real Deal.

The 20-story condominium building, between East 27th and East 28th streets in NoMad, opened last year. While the 46 apartments are almost fully sold, the 3,200-square-foot retail space at the base of the property remains vacant. The condo features 12-foot ceilings and more than 27 feet of street frontage.

Yoav Oelsner and Glenn Tolchin, executive vice presidents at JLL, represented both Victor Homes and JTRE in the deal. JTRE could not be reached for comment.

Average asking rents on the block are up to $200 per square foot, Tolchin said. The new owner is likely looking for a fashion retailer to move in, he said.

“Given the amount of real estate activity transpiring north of Madison Square Park, it’s a natural location for a retailer seeking additional foot traffic,” Tolchin told The Real Deal

JTRE, led by Jack Terzi, has had its eye on Manhattan retail as of late. The firm entered contract in December to buy the Soho retail space at 63 Spring Street currently occupied by Lafayette Smoke Shop, the New York Post reported.

Victor Homes raised condominium prices by 20 percent shortly after sales launched last year. Doron Zwickel of CORE Group marketed the apartments. A three-bedroom penthouse is currently on the market there for $9.8 million.