The property sold for an astonishing price of $710,500 per unit, a capitalization rate of 4.2%, $630 per square foot and a gross rent multiplier of 16 times.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Shapiro, Brett Weisblum and Ian Brooks represented the seller, Crest Realty, while Amit Doshi and Jonathan Shainberg of Meridian Capital Group represented the buyer, Gazivoda Realty.
Crest Realty had purchased the property in 2017 for close to $40M with the intention of converting it to a condominium. When the property first hit the market in April 2019, the asking price was $45 million, which would have left ample room for a buyer to profit from a condo conversion, if not for recent rent laws.
“This is a prime example of a property that was severely impacted by the Tenant Protection Act,” said Robert Shapiro of Cushman & Wakefield. “Ownership made substantial upgrades throughout the building in the hopes of converting the property into a luxury condominium, but changes in the law virtually eliminated the ability of ownership to file for conversion. The new regulations, along with the changes to treatment of rent-regulated units, further negatively impacted the value.”
