Condos at Kushner’s Puck having luck as rentals instead

Amid chilly market, three of the six units are being rented for up to $150K

293 Lafayette Street
293 Lafayette Street

Amid the chilly luxury condominium market, Kushner Companies has quietly rented several of its unsold Puck Penthouses.

Penthouse III, one of six units atop the landmark building at 293 Lafayette Street, was the most recent to be snapped up after asking $57,000 a month. The three-bedroom unit was previously listed for sale, asking $19.95 million.

The Corcoran Group’s Deborah Grubman had the listing. Douglas Elliman’s Oren and Tal Alexander brought the renter, according to the brothers’ Instagram accounts.

Along with Penthouse III, two other condos have rental tenants in place: Penthouse V and Penthouse I, which is the building’s most expensive penthouse. The pad was originally listed for $66 million, but failed to find a buyer even after the price was dropped last year to $58.5 million.

Kushner Companies declined to comment. But sources said the sprawling top penthouse is being rented by a hedge fund executive for as much as $150,000 a month.

Agents familiar with the building said the Puck units have quietly been marketed to rental clientele in recent months amid sluggish sales. “They’re just really expensive,” said one agent.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

In addition to the three leased units, a fourth penthouse, No. IV, is currently listed for sale and rent. The current owner paid $28 million for the 6,000-square-foot condo in 2014. It’s now asking $35 million, or $85,000 a month.

“They’re open to renting or selling,” said listing broker Dana Power of Town Residential, who said the price was “competitive based on other comparable properties.

The Puck’s top penthouse, asking $58.5 million since January 2016, is asking a premium at $8,078 per square foot.

By comparison, the priciest unit currently available at 30 Park Place is asking $32.5 million, or $61,27 per square foot, while the most expensive at Woolworth Towers is asking $26.4 million, or $5,991 per square foot. The Downtown sales record belongs to a condo at Walker Tower that sold for $50.9 million in 2014.

Last year, Kushner swapped out Sotheby’s International Realty’s Nikki Field for Grubman.