Elliman absorbs boutique international brokerage Stratus Realty Group

Manhattan boutique real estate firm Stratus Realty Group has joined Prudential Douglas Elliman, a statement from Elliman today said. The Tribeca-based Stratus, founded by Irene Nickolai in 2008, will do business as the Nickolai Group and be based out of Elliman’s 1995 Broadway office, the statement said.

Nickolai began her career as a gallerist in nearby Chelsea and served as a vice president at New York Commercial Realty before forming Stratus.

“The Nickolai Group has a powerful international reach,” Elliman President and CEO Dottie Herman said in the statement. “They are highly marketable, modern and tech savvy.”

The Nickolai Group, which will include ten agents, began work on March 26, a spokesperson for Elliman said. The residential and commercial arms of the brokerage are joining Elliman whereas other departments will remain working under Stratus Global Partners. Those include the investment sales, capital markets and real estate funds departments, Nickolai told The Real Deal.

As the Stratus Group, Nickolai’s team boasted listings in the U.S., the Carribean and Eastern and Western Europe. Currently, the team is working on “advising several international investors on small-to-medium residential conversion purchases” and closing on the sale of 51-06 Vernon Boulevard, a commercial building in Long Island City, the statement said.

“We have created a one-of-a-kind entity serving high-end commercial and residential real estate,” Nickolai said. “We’re thrilled to be joining one of the most successful and respected brokers in New York. Not to mention — it’s inspiring to be surrounded by so many successful women in the industry.” — Guelda Voien