From left: 450-452 Amsterdam Avenue and 650 Sixth Avenue
Trevi Retail, on a Manhattan buying spree, has closed on two more deals this week — bringing its total number of acquisitions in the past 10 months to 15. The latest buys are a package of two Upper West Side rental buildings with a combined 3,300 square feet of retail space and the 27,000-square-foot space on the ground floor of the Cammeyer, at 650 Sixth Avenue, near West 20th Street, Trevi CEO Rockie Gajwani confirmed to The Real Deal.
In the Upper West Side transaction, which closed yesterday, Trevi picked up 450 and 452 Amsterdam Avenue, between 81st and 82nd streets, for $12.5 million from Silverstone Property Group. The buildings contain 16 residential units, none of which are vacant, and four retail storefronts. Silverstone, led by Martin Nussbaum, purchased the pair of properties almost exactly a year ago for $8.1 million. The firm renovated the building, upgraded the hallways and lobbies, and vacated and de-regulated many of the units, according to Gajwani. Nussbaum did not respond to requests for comment.
All of the storefronts are leased — to a bar, two restaurants and a stationary store — at an average of about $115 per square-foot, said Gajwani, who added that three of the four leases expire within the next two years.
“We’re retail experts and we see value where others might not,” Gajwani said of the 50 percent premium he paid over Silverstone’s price.
Trevi buys mixed-use buildings from landlords who specialize in residential, and focuses on the ground-floor commercial component. “So we have some ideas for [the space] to see how we can maximize it,” Gajwani added.
Steven Vegh, of Multi Investment Group, brokered both sides of the deal in an off-market transaction. Vegh has worked to represent both parties in more than $300 million worth of off-market deals this year; most recently he brokered the sale of a 32-unit East Williamsburg rental building that traded hands in late June.
“Both the buyer and seller worked well together to close this off-market transaction quickly,” Vegh said of the Amsterdam Avenue deal. “The buyer was able to see the tremendous value in the newly renovated asset and the amazing location.”
Because of an agreement with the previous owner, Trevi would not comment on any aspect of the deal at 650 Sixth Avenue, other than to say it’s the largest retail space the firm has acquired thus far. Located in the ground floor of a 67-unit condominium at the corner of West 20th Street, two blocks east of Trevi’s recent acquisition at 189 Eighth Avenue, the space is currently leased to a Men’s Warehouse and a FedEx Office store. The condo was developed by Kumkang Housing, which appears to be the party that sold the space to Trevi.
