Karp expanding island empire

BY MARY LANCASTER

INDEPENDENT WRITER


Just a little over a month since real

Stephen Karp estate investor and developer Stephen Karp closed on a $55 million purchase of Nantucket commercial properties from Three Winthrop Properties, Inc., he is on the verge of buying another 10 shop and three restaurant spaces owned by the company.

John Driscoll, a vice-president with Winthrop Financial Associates, confirmed on Monday that Karp is under contract to purchase several downtown locations with a tentative closing scheduled for mid-September or September 30 at the latest. Proxy statements for approval of the sale were mailed to limited partners of Nantucket Island Associates Limited partnership last Friday. Driscoll said he could not discuss Karp’s price offer until the investors receive that information.

The new package includes 26 to 32 Main St., containing Wayne Pratt Antiques, The Spectrum and The Camera Shop. It also comprises 22 to 26 Centre St., where Sweet Inspirations and Pageo Jewelers do business. There is a large apartment on the second floor of this block of buildings. He is buying the gourmet 21 Federal restaurant building with Sushi by Yoshi attached in back at 2 East Chestnut St., The Atlantic Cafe building at 15 South Water and 4 South Water housing Handblock. The remaining properties include 14 Federal St., the address of Eye of the Needle, and 18 Federal St., renting to Eye of the Needle for Girls, The Vanderbilt Collection and L’lle de France.

This purchase will break the record Karp recently set for being the owner of Nantucket’s largest portfolio of commercial real estate. The closing on June 22 transferred 48 properties, or approximately 70 percent of Winthrop’s holdings to Karp. They include Straight Wharf, Old South Wharf and various retail locations throughout downtown.

In the mid-1980s, Karp bought The Wauwinet and in 1998 purchased The White Elephant, Harbor House Village, Nantucket Boat Basin and the basin Wharf Cottages. The Breakers hotel was part of that grouping, however Karp sold it. Last year, Karp bought the Jared Coffin House and associated buildings from Phil and Margaret Read.

Karp, who has already spent more than $100 million on Nantucket real estate, is referred to by some as “the next Walter Beinecke,” the man who transformed the island’s waterfront and from whom Winthrop purchased the buildings and marina it has sold and is now selling to Karp.

Driscoll said the upcoming transaction incorporates almost all the remaining properties Winthrop owns. For the foreseeable future, the company intends to keep the fuel tank farm behind the Grand Union market, which it also owns, 3, 5 and 7 Salem St., holding Hepburn, Barry Thurston’s Tackle Shop and the Cavalier Gallery, respectively, and a three-bedroom home Karp is renting for hotel employee housing.

Based in Newton, Karp heads New England Development Corporation with several upscale malls and retail operations at LaGuardia and Philadelphia airports. His local hotels are under Nantucket Island Resorts. The $55 million in properties sold to NIR Retail, LLC.

I Additional properties that Stephen Karp is expected to purchase from Winthrop. A September closing is anticipated. • 14 Federal St. (Eye of the Needle) • 18 Federal St. (Eye of the Needle for Girls, Vanderbilt and L’lle de France) • 21 Federal (Restaurant) • 26 - 32 Main St. (Wayne Pratt, The Spectrum, The Camera Shop) • 4 South Water St. (Handblock) • 15 South Water St. (Atlantic Cafe) • 22 - 26 Centre St. (Sweet Inspirations, Pageo, 2nd floor apartment) • 2 East Chestnut St. (Sushi by Yoshi)

DEAL IN THE WORKS