Selling Retail, in a pandemic isn’t easy!
Adelaide Polsinelli, Vice Chairman of Compass, a publicly traded, technology-driven real estate platform, and Michael Coghill, President of Adirondack Capital Partners, have successfully closed on the sale of a well-known, iconic, retail property at 604 5th Avenue, in the heart of Manhattan’s, Rockefeller Center, for a price of $45,000,000, approximately $2,500 per square foot.
The building, designed by Chrysler Building architect, William Van Alen in 1925, was home to TGIFriday, which has been operating in this location for the past 20 years. The property is located on Fifth Avenue, where some of the most expensive retail real estate in the world exists.
604 5th Avenue is the only privately owned building on the block between 48th and 49th Streets, across from Saks Fifth Avenue and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
“Fifth Avenue is having a bad PR moment,” commented Adelaide Polsinelli. “This sale is the boost the corridor needed to remind retailers that this is a “once in a cycle” opportunity to stake a claim in what is arguably the best address in New York City,” Polsinelli continued.
While 5th Avenue was hard hit by the pandemic, the shift in retail shopping patterns to e-commerce, added a double blow to the already struggling retail market. This sale represents a transitioning from the decades long reign of the old guard of retailers to the newer, innovative retailers who are growing their brands to take their place on the 5th Avenue, the runway of up and coming retailers.
“New retailers and brands will rejuvenate this Fifth Avenue corridor and it will regain its position as the crown jewel of the world,” mused Polsinelli.
“In a time of great tumult for the Fifth Avenue corridor, the sale of 604 5th Avenue is a welcome reminder that New York remains one of the top destinations for international investment,” said Coghill of Adirondack Capital Partners.
The property was owned since 1981, by the Riese Organization, which was once Manhattan’s biggest restaurant operator with over 300 restaurants. The purchaser is an undisclosed International retailer who will be occupying the property as their New York City flagship.
“With the retail and sales’ landscape evolving, I am seeing a surge in owner users stepping up to purchase real estate for their own businesses,” continued Polsinelli.
Polsinelli has recently sold another retail property in the Flatiron District to a tech user and has several deals brewing with various users ready buy real estate for their businesses.
“The curtain may be temporarily drawn on Fifth Avenue but when it eventually lifts, it will showcase a magnificent renaissance, the scale of which only New York City can pull off,” promised Polsinelli.
About Polsinelli: With over 30 years of experience, Polsinelli has sold over 1,500 properties, valued at over $40 billion in every asset class including multifamily, retail, office, development, note sales, air rights, partnership interests, unsold shares and retail condos. She has sold over $2 billion in just the last few years, spanning NYC, Miami, Boston, Chicago and most of the northeast corridor. Prior to joining Compass, she was a Principal at the now defunct, Eastern Consolidated.
About Compass: is a technology-driven real estate platform dedicated to creating a seamless and intelligent buying, selling, and leasing experience. Combining the country’s top agents, proprietary market insights, and integrated mobile and web technologies, Compass is developing the future of real estate decision-making. With $1 Billion in revenue, and $35 Billion in sales volume, Compass has 238 offices with locations in 122 markets, including New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, the Hamptons, and Aspen. New funding fuels international expansion, enhanced technology developments for agents and consumers. Compass was founded by Ori Allon, who sold two previous companies to Google and Twitter, and business partner Robert Reffkin, a former White House Fellow and Chief of Staff to Goldman Sachs’ President & COO.
