NEW YORK CITY—Continuing the new trend of trading retail condominiums, Equus Capital Partners has sold for just over $48 million two such units—totaling 45,000 square feet—at Barbizon 63, the firm's luxury condominium building at 140 E. 63St., on Lexington avenue, GlobeSt.com has learned in this UPDATE. At the time of the sale, the two units were fully occupied under long-term leases with Equinox and Soul Cycle.
The seller was represented by Clint Olsen and Robert Knakal of Massey Knakal in the transaction. The identity of the buyer was undisclosed.
Formerly well known as the Barbizon Hotel for Women, the property was acquired by an affiliate of Equus back in 2001 and then operated as the Melrose Hotel until 2005. In 2007, the firm completed its redevelopment of the former hotel into 70 luxury condominium residences, which sold at an average sale price in excess of $2,000 per square foot.
Equus was ready to move on from the asset, SVP Chris Locatell tells GlobeSt.com. "Selling was part of the redevelopment plan, we're not long term holders. The market was right and it was time to return the money to our investors."
Adds Knakal, "The majority of the space here was below grade but the quality of the space was excellent. "Investors increasingly are looking at retail condos as a preferred asset class. It's not only traditional retail buyers but those who'd buy office or multifamily properties because the performance of retail condos as an asset class has been extraordinary."
In fact, the market for retail condos has never been stronger, CBRE EVP David LaPierre recently told GlobeSt.com. “Before, there hadn't been much turnover of retail condos, but the nature of the crunch in pricing has put landlords in a place where they're trying to pull equity off the table. Retail condos have been a great way to accomplish that. In my 20-year career, I haven't seen as many people evaluating retail condos as I've seen in the last four to five years.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
