Private equity giant the Carlyle Group and retail-focused investment firm 60 Guilders closed on the purchase of a Soho retail co-op unit at 106 Spring Street for just shy of $100 million – and are close to acquiring the neighboring retail space at 93 Mercer Street for north of $40 million, sources told The Real Deal.
The buyers are planning to reposition the retail spaces and lease them to two new luxury tenants. Since the firms bid to acquire the combined 12,000 square feet, the existing retailers have moved out.
Sporting goods store Burton Snowboards is in the process of relocating to 69 Greene Street, where it will take 6,400 square feet. The Vermont-based company had leased 6,000 square feet at 106 Spring Street since 2005.
Fashion brand Helmut Lang also recently left the 6,000-square-foot base of 93 Mercer Street after two years. There are two other Helmut Lang locations in the city, at 14 Prince Street in Nolita and 821 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District.
The owners of the upstairs residential co-op units who control the entity Workspace are the sellers of the retail. The deal for 106 Spring closed late last month, while the one for 93 Mercer is expected to close in the next two months, sources said.
The combined price of the two co-ops is $140 million, or $15,555 per square foot, making it one of the priciest retail investment sales deals ever. Together, the units have 9,000 square feet on the ground floor and 3,000 square feet on the lower level.
Eastdil Secured’s Adam Spies and Doug Harmon, who brokered the deal, declined to comment, as did 60 Guilders. A representative for Carlyle Group could not be reached.
Carlyle and 60 Guilders also teamed up to buy three floors of office condos at the Corinthian rental tower for nearly $50 million late last year. Carlyle’s partner, 60 Guilders, is a fast-growing Soho-focused investment firm led by two former Savanna employees Kevin Chisholm and Bastien Broda.