2008-10-08 03:35:01 -

- Quinn & Co. Public Relations Steve Dawson, 212-868-1900 x241 sdawson@quinnandco.com O'Connor Capital Partners has completed the sale of the Upper East Side retail condominium at Manhattan House to Madison Capital for $86 million. The deal marks a major milestone for the $1.1 billion condominium conversion of Manhattan House, a modernist and architectural icon with grand residences that was designated

a historic landmark in 2007 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The 102,842-square-foot retail, parking and office condominiums at Manhattan House, one of the Upper East Side's largest retail offerings, includes seven street-level stores on Second and Third Avenues between 65th Street and 66th Street, four professional office spaces on 65th and 66th Streets, and a parking garage on 65th Street.

"The Manhattan House retail condominium is a strategic investment with considerable future growth potential," said Brian Fallon, partner at O'Connor Capital Partners. "Its proximity to the luxury retail core of New York City and position at the base of the top luxury residential conversion development in the city make this the prime location for retail traffic."

O'Connor Capital Partners successfully attracted new top-tier tenants, including Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company with over 80 locations in Canada, the United States and Australia; Staples Express, the United States' largest office supply store and business resource center; ALDO, an international leather goods retailer; and Icon Parking Systems. Existing tenants include Club Monaco, a subsidiary of Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., and Madame Paulette.

"Madison Capital is extremely pleased to have been able to acquire a significant and exceptional retail asset in the heart of the Upper East Side," said Richard Wagman, managing partner at Madison Capital. "The high caliber of tenancy, together with the prime location and high quality of this asset, were what attracted Madison to this premier core plus opportunity. We continue to actively pursue new acquisitions as our historically disciplined approach to underwriting allows us to acquire assets despite market volatility."

Eastdil Secured represented O'Connor Capital Partners in the transaction.

Located at 200 East 66th Street, Manhattan House is a five-building, 22-story architectural icon originally designed in 1952 by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Manhattan House offers spacious, light-infused, one- to five-bedroom family sized residences that have been restored and enhanced to combine the building's classic grandeur with quintessential elements of 21st-century luxury living. Residents will enjoy unprecedented services and amenities, including the exclusive residents-only Manhattan Club, an in-residence hotel concierge, Exhale Spa and state-of-the-art fitness facility, Roto Studio-designed children's playroom, and Manhattan's second largest private residential park with landscaping by Sasaki Associates, the world-renowned firm that recently designed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Green.

Dolly Lenz, vice chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman, leads onsite sales and marketing for Manhattan House. For more information, please visit www.manhattanhouse.com or call 212.566.0660.

O'Connor Capital Partners

O'Connor Capital Partners, founded in 1983, is a privately held real estate investment and development firm. The firm is headquartered in New York with regional offices in Mexico City and Los Angeles. O'Connor Capital Partners is focused on principal investing through private equity funds and concentrates its efforts on direct investments in high-quality assets in major North American metropolitan markets. Notable New York Metro projects include The Westchester in White Plains, Menlo Park Mall in New Jersey and Parkchester in the Bronx. O'Connor has participated in the development of high-end residential projects in most of the major cities in the U.S. and Mexico. Since inception, the firm has acquired or developed more than $15 billion of property on behalf of various investment funds, institutional clients, and its own account, encompassing all major property types.

Madison Capital

Madison Capital is a private real estate organization that manages a portfolio in excess of $1.25 billion of retail, residential and mixed-use assets in New York City. Madison recently formed a joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors to continue to acquire urban retail, residential and mixed-use assets in New York and other major urban markets though out the United States. Madison has maintained a disciplined investment strategy to acquire well located value-added to core plus assets, with a long-term investment horizon. Some of Madison's projects include: 1880 Broadway, an 85,000-square-foot retail asset leased to JP Morgan Chase & Co., Best Buy Co. and West Elm, a Williams-Sonoma, Inc. affiliated furniture retailer; 1657 Broadway, a 100,000-square-foot retail and office asset in Times Square; and 1235 Second Avenue, a 20,000-square-foot retail asset on the Upper East Side. Madison's affiliate, Madison Capital Lending, originates and acquires debt.

-Retail Condominium on Second and Third Avenues Between 65th and
66th Streets Sold to Madison Capital-