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 Ave. in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. The company, formerly known as Regal Acquisitions, purchased the property from Prudential Financial last month for $35.25 million.
The site spans the full block between 53rd and 54th Streets on the west side of Eighth Ave. The property’s retail component is 15,893 square feet, while the parking portion measures 21,272 square feet. The site’s retail portion is capped by a 253-unit, 25-story residential condo tower.
The 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 e-commerce, we’re seeing neighborhood retail in dense population areas continue to thrive and grow.”
Morrison Street Capital provided a portion of the equity for the acquisition of the Eighth Avenue site.
