Vornado Realty Trust is selling its retail condominium on the Upper East Side to Ralph Sitt’s Status Capital for nearly $85 million, The Real Deal has learned.
The Steve Roth-led real estate investment trust is set to close on the sale of the condo at the base of the 26-story Marquand at 11 East 68th Street this week, according to sources familiar with the deal. The 11,000-square-foot condo is fully leased to British clothing brand Belstaff, French women’s luxury retailer Sonia Rykiel and American clothing chain Rag & Bone.
Sitt, who runs Status Capital with his brother David and is still involved in his family’s firm Sitt Asset Management, is planning a long-term hold of the unit, sources said. But the leases are all short term, with six years remaining at most for one of the tenants.
Vornado and HFZ Capital Group jointly paid $170 million for the 41-unit rental building on the site in 2011. HFZ converted the residential portion into 26 luxury condos and Vornado controlled the newly created retail condo. Elie Hirschfeld snagged the building’s triplex penthouse for $38 million in 2016.
The condo, which also has frontage on Madison Avenue, features 6,800 square feet on the ground floor and 4,200 square feet on the lower level.
The retail’s price per square foot comes out to $7,727.
Vornado began shopping the retail condo in February, when it sought bids in the ballpark of $125 million, Real Estate Alert reported at the time. After a lengthy marketing process, the REIT went into contract late last year, sources said.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Kevin Donner, Adam Doneger and Marcella Fasulo are brokering the sale. Vornado, Status Capital and the brokers declined to comment.
Only a handful of retail condos traded in the past year, as storefront vacancies and company bankruptcies have plagued the retail market not only in New York City but also nationwide. For example, TH Real Estate bought 10 Madison Square West for $97.5 million, or $4,733 per square foot, and HUBB NYC bought one of New York REIT’s remaining retail condos – and a parking garage – for $25.1 million.
Sitt has also been aggressive on retail, having bought 715 Madison Avenue for $62 million last year and hunting for a new retail talent at the troubled 2 Herald Square. Ralph and David’s brother Eddie also recently settled a lawsuit with them over ownership of the the latter property.
Abro Management, which had sold the Marquand to Vornado and HFZ, sued the firms in November, alleging it is owed nearly $15 million in proceeds from the apartment sales.