Former FiDi condos find success as rentals

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From left: William Beaver House, 25 Broad StreetAnd The Setai Wall Street

Financial District condominium projects have found success since being converted to rentals early this year, according to the Wall Street Journal, although the Occupy Wall Street protests have dampened the trend in recent days.

The 300-unit Sapir Organization-developed William Beaver House, for example, put its 208 unsold units on the rental market this spring, and about 75 percent of them have been leased at a rate of 18 per month and $57 per square-foot.

Similarly, 25 Broad Street, the condo conversion by Kent Swig, went on the rental market earlier this year, and 104 of the 305 units have rented for about $55 per square foot.

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These projects have increased the Financial District’s share of the downtown rental market, defined as south of 42nd Street, by 21 percent in the last year, the Journal reported, citing Jonathan Miller.

Though initially seen as a sign of failure for these projects, quickly filling the vacant units with renters has helped accelerate the neighborhood’s transformation into a true residential neighborhood. That, in turn, will help sales once these units are put back on the buyer’s market.

This has already proven true at the Setai Wall Street that HFZ Capital Group took over earlier this year. That building is now 82 percent sold with six more units in contract. [WSJ]