Real Estate Weekly on 1:01 PM, APRIL 13, 2011 By Roland Li

Israel-based Harel Insurance Company, Ltd. has purchased a commercial condo at 254 Park Avenue South for $15.97 million, according to city records.

The property is the ground floor retail space in the building, which is occupied by Duane Reade. Gaia Real Estate will manage the property, according to a spokesman for Gaia.

Harel Insurance is a subsidiary of the Harel Group, one of Israel’s largest public companies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and the third largest insurance group in Israel.
 
The owner of 254 Park Avenue South is Rosen Partners, which converted the limestone building, built in 1913, into 123 condos. Douglas Elliman Developments is the sales and marketing firm for the building.

“In all our developments, we try to maximize both the residential and the retail components,” said Dan Rosen, a principal of Rosen Partners.

“We believe very strongly in location,” he added.

According to StreetEasy, seven units have closed this year, ranging from a 552 s/f studio listed at $690,000 to a 943 s/f two-bedroom unit that closed at $1.3 million after being listed at $1.74 million.

Officials at the Harel Group couldn’t be reached.