The market for retail condominiums downtown remains robust, with two properties trading or hitting the market in the $17 million range today, sources told The Real Deal.
A 13,700-square-foot condo at 57-63 Greene Street, which houses Bang & Olufsen, a high-end video and audio products purveyor, and the furniture sellers Cyrus Co. and Raul Carrasco, has sold for $17.25 million. The seller’s broker, David Schechtman of Eastern Consolidated, confirmed the sale but not the price.
A source with knowledge of the deal said that Yaron Jacobi, an investor and sometimes-partner to billionaire real estate tycoon Ron Burkle, was the purchaser. The seller, the investment fund Aion Partners, was asking $19 million for the Soho building.
Another Soho retail property has also just hit the market, and in the same price range, Schechtman noted. The nearby 62-66 Thomas Street, a 12,000-square-foot space that houses upscale Japanese restaurant Megu, is being marketed with a $17 million ask, he said.
Megu received a Six Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences earlier this year. The only other New York City restaurant ever to receive the prestigious Six Star award is Jean Georges, according to previous reports. The restaurant tenant recently recommitted to the space for another nine years, Schechtman said.
The seller, Zar Property, indicated that they decided to sell the retail condo after receiving a number of unsolicited offers. “We have received so many credible offers to purchase the property that sale is a possibility now, if our pricing is met,” Zar principal Dario Zar said.
Schechtman is marketing the property with help from Eastern colleagues Lipa Lieberman and Adelaide Polsinelli.
The rising demand for retail condos — $964 million worth have traded so far this year, according to figures from Real Capital Analytics — has prompted Eastern Consolidated to launch a new, six-broker retail sales division led by industry veteran Adelaide Polsinelli, as The Real Deal reported.
The Thomas Street deal exemplifies the financial opportunity retail condos present: low hassle with strong cash flow, according to Schechtman. “It’s an [obvious] deal in the sense that you have a tenant who is internationally known, in a neighborhood where values have skyrocketed,” he said.