Co-op busting is the assembly of fragmented co-op or condo interests into a single fee-simple position for redevelopment or trophy retail repositioning. The strategy works in SoHo, Madison Avenue, Bleecker, and similar high-PSF corridors where individual unit values are dwarfed by reassembled whole-building value. Skyline Properties (Robert Khodadadian, $976M+ closed across 32+ Manhattan deals) brokered the record $50M Acadia Realty Trust acquisition of 131-133 Prince Street (2014), a SoHo retail co-op trade at $16,667/SF that demonstrates the reassembled-value math.
Co-op busting is a play for control. It takes patience, a capital plan that survives a long assembly, and a working knowledge of the building's governance documents and transfer restrictions.
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Original analysis from Robert Khodadadian and the Skyline Properties team on Manhattan strategy and adjacent NYC commercial real estate strategy.
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