RHYS orchestrates a pair of commercial buys

Stamford-based commercial real estate firm RHYS announced the recent sale of a pair of multimillion-dollar Fairfield County properties, with one fetching nearly $900 per square foot.

RHYS announced the sale of 39 and 49-51 Locust Ave. in New Canaan for $11,839,000. The two office buildings, totaling 33,773 square feet, traded for $350 per square foot. The firm simultaneously announced the recent sale of 121 Greenwich Ave. in Greenwich ”“ home to Manfredi Jewels ”“ for $4,700,000, or $893 per square foot.

RHYS President and CEO Cory Gubner and Senior Vice President/Principal Christian Bangert were the sole brokers in the Greenwich Avenue sale. The seller was Evelyn Cohen and others, and the buyer was Manfredi Jewels, according to RHYS.

Bangert and Gubner also represented seller Locust Realty Co. LLC in the New Canaan sale. The company said 39 Locust Ave., built in 1982, consists of 13,790 square feet of office space and is fully occupied by four tenants, including the New Canaan Board of Education, which occupies 70 percent of the building; and 49-51 Locust Avenue, built in 1973, consists of 19,983 square feet of office space and is 95 percent occupied by 11 tenants.

“This was a very rare and exciting offering for not just RHYS Commercial, but the New Canaan market as a whole. After more than four decades of the same ownership, we were able to successfully execute our proprietary sales process and achieve a pinnacle sale price for 39 and 49-51 Locust Ave.” Gubner said.

On Greenwich Avenue, Manfredi plans to stay in its storied storefront, according to a statement from RHYS. The building has 5,263 square feet and features upstairs apartments. Manfredi also runs a second store in New Canaan that opened in March.

Bangert said, “We continue to see consistent local, regional and international interest when it comes to the Greenwich market. Greenwich is truly part of an elite submarket of concentrated wealth and is an anomaly when it comes to final sale prices within lower Fairfield County. We remain bullish on pushing the pricing ceiling higher and seeing future sale numbers continue to increase.”