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Drowsy Retail Condo Market Shows Some Life
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Written by Muriel J. Gibson   
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
RETAIL CONDOMINIUM SALES are picking up slightly from activity levels plumbed during the downturn, but buyers remain price-sensitive. Last week, the ground-floor retail space at the Apthorp, on the Upper West Side, sold to William Friedland Co. for $37 million, or $2,500 a square foot. And Beck Street Capital announced in December that it had sold its Bleecker Street retail portfolio for $34 million, roughly $6,700 a square foot.

"We're seeing an uptick in retail condo transactions, particularly in good locations," said Kevin Comer, senior managing director at Beck Street.

Because they are such lucrative assets for landlords, retail condos in high-end spots are rarely for sale. Mr. Comer said Beck Street sold the portfolio only because it was held in a partnership agreement that was ending.

Even a little bounce might help investors who, led by the Washington-based Carlyle Group, have been trying to sell a retail condo at 666 Fifth Ave. for almost a year. Though the property, between West 52nd and West 53rd streets, is on the city's costliest retail strip, potential buyers have balked at the price-reportedly $600 million to $700 million.

Downtown, a landlord put a retail condo at 157 Chambers St., between Greenwich and Hudson streets, on the market for $7 million six months ago. No takers there, either.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 December 2011 )