Time Equities, Hamlin sell Penn Plaza retail space for $27M

Time Equities and Hamlin Ventures have shed two retail spaces at their Penn Plaza office condominium at 131 West 33rd Street for $27.3 million.

The buyer is listed as 131 West 33rd Street Eat LLC with an individual named Jeff Fishman signing on behalf of the corporation, public records show.

Combined, the retail condos at the 16-story building, located between Sixth and Seventh avenues, total nearly 22,500 square feet. There are 17,736 square feet on the cellar level, first floor and mezzanine, as well as 4,757 square feet on the first floor and mezzanine, according to the building’s condo declaration.

Time Equities [TRData] and Hamlin sold out the building’s office units in 2013, after converting the rental building into office condos. At the time, Time Equities CEO Francis Greenburger said his firm would hold onto the retail spaces, which he expected to appreciate in value. “They’re renting for below market rates right now,” he was quoted as saying. “In the long term the retail will be very valuable, which is a great upside for us.”

Office space at the building is currently going for $50 per square foot, according to a recent listing.

The developers paid $70.6 million for the building in 2007, public records show, after Savanna flipped the building. Months earlier, Savanna purchased the property for $41.5 million.

Time Equities has converted several other buildings into office condos, Including 70 West 36th Street in Chelsea and 125 Maiden Lane in the Financial District.

In its July cover story, The Real Deal examined if New York City’s retail bubble is about to burst.