The 11-story rental apartment building at 11 East 68th Street on the northwest corner at Madison Avenue is being offered for sale and is "is expected to draw major investor interest because of its potential to be converted into condos and the value of its 10,000 square feet of prime Madison Avenue retail space," according to an article by Theresa Agovino in yesterday's edition of crainsnewyork.com.
The article said that real estate experts said that the building might sell more more than $220 million, quoting Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, that "there is a limited amount of properties on the market in general so investor interest should be through the roof for something like this."
"A new wave of condo conversions is expected in the coming months as developers who are unable to secure financing to build rush instead to snap up existing rental buildings and transform them. There are at least a dozen condo conversions planned or in the works across Manhattan and Brooklyn," the article maintained.
"Mr. Fasulo," the article continued, "cautioned that enthusiasm could be tempered if there are numerous rent-controlled or rent-stabilized units in the property, which can complicate conversions to condos. It is unclear how many of the 98-year-old building's 44 units are rent-regulated, but sources said the majority are market-rate apartments."
"Broker Eastdil Secured and owner Abro Management didn't return calls for comment. Abro bought the property in 2008 for $191.8 million....Experts have speculated the retail portion of the East 68th Street building could fetch anywhere from $30 million to more than $60 million. Sources familiar with the deal say Abro is exploring options that include bringing in new investors to the property while maintaining a stake," the article said.
The beige-brick building has a deep light court on the sidestreet with a long entrance canopied. The building has slightly curved facades on the sidestreeet and the avenue and apartments range in size from small to quite large.
The article said that real estate experts said that the building might sell more more than $220 million, quoting Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, that "there is a limited amount of properties on the market in general so investor interest should be through the roof for something like this."
"A new wave of condo conversions is expected in the coming months as developers who are unable to secure financing to build rush instead to snap up existing rental buildings and transform them. There are at least a dozen condo conversions planned or in the works across Manhattan and Brooklyn," the article maintained.
"Mr. Fasulo," the article continued, "cautioned that enthusiasm could be tempered if there are numerous rent-controlled or rent-stabilized units in the property, which can complicate conversions to condos. It is unclear how many of the 98-year-old building's 44 units are rent-regulated, but sources said the majority are market-rate apartments."
"Broker Eastdil Secured and owner Abro Management didn't return calls for comment. Abro bought the property in 2008 for $191.8 million....Experts have speculated the retail portion of the East 68th Street building could fetch anywhere from $30 million to more than $60 million. Sources familiar with the deal say Abro is exploring options that include bringing in new investors to the property while maintaining a stake," the article said.
The beige-brick building has a deep light court on the sidestreet with a long entrance canopied. The building has slightly curved facades on the sidestreeet and the avenue and apartments range in size from small to quite large.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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