Gowanus Investment Firm Purchases Williamsburg Mixed Use Property for $10.2M

By: Ellen Cans

Ryco Capital has purchased a mixed-use property in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As reported by Crain’s NY, the Gowanus-based property investment firm purchased the 3-story building at 168 Wythe Ave. for $10.2 million from Chicago-based private equity real estate investment firm L3 Capital, as per the deed found in the city register Friday. Situated between North Sixth and North Seventh streets, the property boasts over 11,000-square-feet of space. It contains five residential units and previously housed the restaurant, Cafe Rosarito, until the owners announced in January that the restaurant would be shuttered.

L3, which specializes in institutional quality core-plus and value-add urban real estate opportunities in top tier urban markets, had purchased the property in 2019.

Before announcing this recent sale, L3 had made plans to renovate the building, per its website. Ryco has not announced its intentions or plans for the property. No demolition or construction permits have been filed yet for the lot.

Ryco Capital manages a total of $310 million in assets and operates 30 properties, including 270 residential units, 28 retail units and 800,000 square feet of office space primarily in New York City, as per its website. The firm focuses on multifamily and mixed-use assets in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “We renovate assets that have suffered from under investment and deficient management. RYCO implements cogent, tailored business plans to reinvigorate our properties, drive financial returns, and elevate our neighborhoods,”says the company website.

Ryco made waves in the news in early 2024 for having acquired the popular dive bar Lucy’s in the East Village. In January, Ryco purchased the building between St. Marks Place and East Ninth Street for $19.1 million, using a limited liability company named West Lake 135-139 Avenue A, per property records.

That property at 135 Ave. A, has been a beloved drinking establishment for four decades, having opened in the 1980’s. Per Crain’s, that East Village hot spot is now shuttered, as of December, and it’s not known what Ryco’s plan is for the building. The bar owner, 81-year-old Ludwika “Lucy” Mickevicius, previously said she is facing multiple hurdles including rent increase, a lack of staff and an insufficient supply of top-shelf liquor, per the Post. She said she doesn’t have plans to open the bar at a new location, and isn’t interested in moving, “because I’m not finished here,” she told the neighborhood blog EV Grieve.

She had said she was on the lookout for an investor to partner with, wherein she could keep a reduced role in the business, or she may consider selling Lucy’s and retiring.

Ryco, founded in 2018 and led by chief executive officer James Ryan, purchased the Williamsburg building under a version of the same liability company, as well as an assortment of other Manhattan buildings acquired over the past year and a half. Other properties purchased include: 217 Thompson St. in Greenwich Village for $31 million; and 414 West Broadway in SoHo for $13.2 million, per city records.

Ryco did not immediately respond to Crain’s request for comment.