Cohen, Premier grab retail, garage at LES’ Hotel Indigo

Meir Cohen’s Cohen Equities and Premier Equities acquired the retail condo and parking garage at the base of Hotel Indigo, a 24-story project that Brack Capital Real Estate is developing on the Lower East Side, as The Real Deal reported.

The new owners paid $21 million for the 10,400-square-foot retail component and the 19,000-square-foot below-grade garage space at 180 Orchard Street, also known as 169-171 Ludlow Street.

The newly constructed retail space is vacant and features 23-foot-high ceilings. There are 8,400 square feet on the ground floor and 2,000 square feet on the mezzanine level. The parking garage contains 89 spaces.

The block-through, 138,000-square-foot hotel will hold 295 rooms and is expected to open later this year. Brack Capital bought the site for $46.4 million in 2011, records show.

JLL’s Yoav Oelsner and Glenn Tolchin represented both sides in the deal. Andrew Kahn and Jesse Hutcher of Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the retail for lease.

“The space represents a major opportunity for a forward-thinking retailer, just as the neighborhood is hitting its stride,” Oelsner said.

Hutcher said restaurants and international apparel retailers have expressed interest in the space. Several companies are in advanced negotiations to open flagship stores at the hotel site, he added.

Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel chain that is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, also has locations in the city at 127 West 28th Street in Chelsea and 229 Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

Last year, Cohen Equities bought the retail component at 555 West 59th Street from Brack Capital for $23 million, as TRD reported.

Premier, led by Uzi Ben Abraham and Yaron Jacobi, is looking to sell a retail building at 1122 Madison Avenue for $50 million.