Regal Ventures Acquires 16,405-Square-Foot Retail Condo in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen District

$35,250,000 Purchase of 897 Eighth Avenue Includes Acquisition of 21,272-Square-Foot Parking Garage Condo

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Regal Ventures, a real estate investment firm headquartered in New York City, has acquired a 37,165-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail and parking condo at 897 Eighth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side.

The property's retail component is 15,893 square feet in size, while the parking portion measures 21,272 square feet.    

The company, formerly known as Regal Acquisitions, purchased the property from Prudential Financial last month for $35,250,000.

The site -- located four blocks south of Columbus Circle -- spans the full block between 53rd and 54th Street on the west side of Eighth Avenue.  

Regal Ventures closed two additional retail investments in high-density urban settings over the past 18 months: In March 2021, the company acquired the 35,482-square-foot, retail component of 2000 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach's South Beach section. And in April 2021, Regal Ventures purchased the 75,679-square-foot retail and parking portions of 184 Kent Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The company has since exited the Kent Avenue investment, realizing an increase in value of approximately 52 percent over a period of little more than a year. 

The Hell's Kitchen property's retail component includes several well-established, neighborhood outlets, including the Gristedes supermarket anchor, Pick a Bagel, Da Tommaso Ristorante, and Metro Cleaners. It also features Blank Street Coffee and the Mega Nail Spa.

"Regal Ventures is discovering sound investment value in high-population neighborhood, urban retail settings," said Alex Smith, the firm's co-founder and managing partner. "While the overall pace of retail sales has slackened considerably over the past few years due to the disruption from ecommerce, we're seeing neighborhood retail in dense population areas continue to thrive and grow."  

"We're particularly excited about this asset because the tenant mix is well diversified and poised to succeed, even in today's uncertain economic environment," said Joey Cohen, co-founder and managing partner of Regal Ventures. "A strong grocery anchor like Gristedes brings stability to the block and neighboring tenants."  

"Despite turbulence in the economy, the underlying fundamentals of America's retail sector are showing considerable strength," said Sean Dainese, managing partner of Regal Ventures. "Regal Ventures perceives this strength in carefully selected, urban retail assets that we feel have been overlooked and undervalued by the market."

Morrison Street Capital provided a portion of the equity for the acquisition of the Eighth Avenue site.

The site's retail portion is capped by a 253-unit, 25-story residential condo tower.   

In July, Regal Ventures secured a 46-percent mark-up in value by selling a portfolio of office buildings in Mt. Laurel, NJ for $51 million. The company had purchased it in September 2021 for $35 million.

Regal Ventures, previously known as Regal Acquisitions, is a privately held real estate investment firm based in New York City. Its portfolio of properties has included retail, office and industrial assets. Under the leadership of partners Joey Cohen, Alex Smith and Sean Dainese, the company has been expanding its investor base and has also been growing its portfolio both within New York and in other major American markets. Adopting a data-driven approach, the company deploys its technological resources to identify contrarian investment opportunities that deliver capital appreciation and preservation for its partners. Targeted investors include high-net-worth individuals, private equity firms and institutional investors.   

Media contact:

Steve Vitoff
516 652 0785
[email protected]

SOURCE Regal Ventures