Compass out, Corcoran Sunshine in at the Luminaire

Shaoul's Magnum is switching out sales teams at Gramercy condo project

From left: Leonard Steinberg, Kelly Kennedy Mack and 385 First Avenue
From left: Leonard Steinberg, Kelly Kennedy Mack and 385 First Avenue

Compass has taken another hit to its new development roster with the loss of the Luminaire project on First Avenue.

New development marketing giant Corcoran Sunshine is taking over sales at the 138-unit project from the venture capital-backed firm, developer Magnum Real Estate Group confirmed.

The project, at 385 First Avenue, officially launched sales in April 2016. Magnum CEO Ben Shaoul declined to comment on the pace of sales, but 34 of the units were listed as in contract as of press time, per listings website StreetEasy.

A spokesperson for Corcoran Sunshine declined to comment on the switch up and Compass president Leonard Steinberg was not immediately available.

The swap is just the latest blow for Compass, whose new development division has been suffering amid a turbulent market for high-end condos.

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In October, Chinese developer CL Investment Group pulled the plug on a $300.2 million luxury condo conversion of the United Charities office building at 287 Park Avenue South in the Flatiron District, on which Compass was slated to have the exclusive.

Also, sales are said to be slow at its other marquee project, a 94-unit condo by RFR Holding and partners at 100 East 53rd Street, despite a couple of high-profile celebrity deals with George Clooney and Cindy Crawford.

For now, Magnum is still retaining Compass for its Lower East Side project at 196 Orchard Street . The company also has exclusives at several boutique projects Downtown, including a seven-unit condo at 152 Elizabeth Street and six-unit building at 347 Bowery.

Compass is gaining traction in other markets and recently inked an exclusive to market units at the Harrison, a 49-story, 298-unit residential tower in San Francisco.