New York, NY – In a transaction that continues the ongoing retail revival of the Upper East Side, Regency East Apartment Corporation, the owner of the 18-story, 147-unit Regency East co-op apartment building at 301 East 64th Street, has purchased the 13-year master lease on four, highly-visible ground floor retail units at the building for $5.5 million.
Eastern Consolidated’s Director Martin Ezratty represented the seller, Onyx Corp, and procured the buyer for the 12,200-square-foot retail property, which is home to an 8,000-square-foot Gourmet Garage, an upscale marketplace; a 1,500-square-foot H&R Block; a 1,800-square-foot Furry Paws, a pet store; and a 900-square-foot nail salon.
According to Mr. Ezratty, the retail units offer an “extraordinary opportunity” for the co-op buyer to capture market-rate rents once the leases expire, as well as to gain the all-important opportunity to control the use of their asset. “The anticipation of the Second Avenue Subway is driving many investors to consider long-term, strategic retail investments close to the new stations,” he said, noting that the master lease at 301 East 64th Street expires in April 2026 with no increases in annual rent. “The subtenants are currently below market, and that will change as the neighborhood’s access to transit evolves.”
Situated on the northeast corner of East 64th Street and Second Avenue, the retail portion of Regency East is situated on the ground floor of the luxury apartment tower. Centrally located on a tree-lined Lenox hill block, the building is a short walk to Central Park, world-class shopping and dining on Fifth and Madison Avenues, and nearby access to the 63rd Street/Lexington Avenue “F” train station.
Attorneys on the transaction were Alvin Schein Esq. of Seiden & Schein P.C. for the seller, and Jeffrey Diamond Esq. of Marcus, Rosenberg, & Diamond LLP for the buyer.
Eastern Consolidated
Founded in 1981, Manhattan-based Eastern Consolidated is one of the country’s preeminent full-service real estate investment services firms, offering unrivaled expertise in the greater New York marketplace to an impressive worldwide roster of institutional and private investor clients. The 40-person team of brokers, who, combined, offer fluency in 11 languages, come from a wide diversity of entrepreneurial and professional backgrounds. With annual sales up to $4 billion, Eastern Consolidated focuses on the acquisition, disposition and finance of all types of properties.