Kushner Sells Retail Portion of 666 Fifth Ave for $5,833 PSF

Carlyle and Crown Acquisitions Snatch Up Manhattan Retail Flagship

(Costar) -- The Carlyle Group and Crown Acquisitions acquired a controlling interest in the retail portion of 666 Fifth Ave, a 41-story office building in the Plaza District of New York City. Kushner Companies sold the 90,000-square-foot retail portion to the joint venture for $525 million, or a whopping $5,833.33 per square foot. According to CoStar COMPS, the sale ranks as the highest price per square foot paid for a commercial property in New York City so far this year. The building is located on the Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets and offers 200 feet of uninterrupted retail frontage on this famed luxury retail street in Manhattan. Kushner bought 666 Fifth Ave from Tishman Speyer in 2007 for $1.8 billion and then put it through an $18 million renovation. Prior to closing the sale, Abercrombie & Fitch leased a 20,000-square-foot space at the building that will become a flagship A& F Kids store in 2010. The space formerly hosted Brooks Brothers, which, according to the NY Times, leased the space for $217 per square foot back in 1998 -- According to the NY Sun, Abercrombie reportedly leased the space for $2,000 per square foot. The teen apparel retailer will join existing retailers at the building including the NBA Store and Hickey Freeman.