If at first you don’t succeed, try … turning your condo project into a rental?
That’s the approach Cohen Goldstein Investment Strategies is taking with its condo development at 318 East 81st Street. The project is now being marketed as a “boutique collection of six full-floor rental residences” — and some previous sales listings have been taken down.
In a condo plan filing last year, the developer was aiming for a $25 million sellout. Four units were listed for sale in August, with prices ranging from $3.7 million to $4.5 million, StreetEasy shows. Now the building’s five active listings are rentals. The apartment that was listed for $4.3 million, for example, is now asking $14,500 a month as a rental.
The penthouse — which spans close to 2,000 square feet, according to the project’s website — is listed for $18,000 a month. Each of the units has a private elevator, and the building has a part-time doorman.
Representatives for CGI Strategies and Reuveni Real Estate, which is marketing the project, did not reply to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Reuveni could not immediately comment.
The change comes as the market slowdown has been particularly tough on high-end condos. The slump in the sales market has driven some would-be buyers to take refuge in the rental market while they wait for prices to come down and tax law changes to play out. Subsequently, owners are increasingly listing properties for both sale and rent. So far this year, through Sept. 1, the number of homes listed simultaneously for sale and for rent increased 51 percent to 1,087, according to a recent report citing StreetEasy data.
Reuveni is also marketing other new development projects including Charlie West, 123-unit condo project in Hell’s Kitchen, and 90 Morton, a 35-unit condo building in the West Village.
CGI’s other projects in New York include 613 4th Avenue in Brooklyn’s South Slope neighborhood. The company bought the site in 2015 and is planning a 12-story residential building with 73 units and retail space.