From left: Jeffrey Kaye, 407 Bleecker before (source: Trulia) and after the conversion

For some time now, coveted Downtown neighborhoods such as Soho and the West Village have commanded some of the highest residential rents in Manhattan. But about a dozen landlords – most recently Stone Street Properties and SMA Equities – have found that converting ground-floor apartments into retail space is far more lucrative. [more]

Jeffrey Kaye and Robert Morgenstern of Stone Street Properties and 260-268 Elizabeth Street

Hot on the heels of a recent $73 million acquisition, real estate investment firm Stone Street Properties has closed on another five-building portfolio for $33.5 million, the company’s founders Robert Morgenstern and Jeffrey Kaye told The Real Deal today.

The portfolio of buildings is located at 260-268 Elizabeth Street; it is composed of 48 residential units as well as five ground-floor retail spaces. Tenants include Billy’s Bakery and Area ID, a design and interiors boutique. [more]

Stone Street’s Jeffrey Kaye and Robert Morgenstern and 234 East 33rd Street

Stone Street Properties, a real estate investment firm founded last year by Jeffrey Kaye and Robert Morgenstern, has closed on a deal for a 16-building Manhattan and Brooklyn portfolio composed of 300 residential units, the founders told The Real Deal today.

The deal for the portfolio, made up of 14 Manhattan buildings and two properties in Brooklyn, closed yesterday for $73 million. Paul Smadbeck of Massey Knakal Realty Services brokered the deal on behalf of the seller. Stone Street did not use a broker. [more]

From left: Robert Morgenstern and Jeffrey Kaye of Stone Street Properties at 11 Cornelia Street, which they recently purchased

From the April issue: Investing in real estate can be daunting, especially in the unpredictable post-Lehman market. And the strategy favored by new investors in the mid-2000s — ground-up condo construction projects — is now viewed as extremely risky.

But newcomers to the world of New York real estate investment — especially those with some prior industry experience — are nonetheless finding creative ways to carve out a toehold in the business. [more]

Stone Street Properties, a real estate investment firm recently formed by Gotham Organization alumnus Jeffrey Kaye and former Gumley Haft Kleier broker Robert Morgenstern, has acquired a small portfolio of five rental buildings in the East Village and the Upper East Side from Icon Realty Management, a representative from Icon confirmed. The deal, which has not yet hit public records, is valued at $90 million, Kaye said. Rockwood Capital is Stone Street’s equity partner in the deal, he said.

The buildings, located at 176 East 3rd Street, 420 East 66th Street, 404 East 88th Street, 336 East 81st Street and 344 East 85th Street, are all five- or six-story elevator buildings and have been renamed by Stone Street as the Jesse, the Chase, the Hudson, the Lily and the Emma respectively, according to the company website.

There were no brokers involved in the deal, Kaye said…. [more]