Shearman & Sterling Advises Wharton Properties on Joint Venture with Aurora Capital
Shearman & Sterling represented Wharton Properties, which is wholly owned by New York real estate developer Jeff Sutton, in a joint venture with Aurora Capital to enter into a 99-year triple net lease of 511 Fifth Avenue, a 160,000 square foot Class-A office/retail building in midtown Manhattan. The partnership will operate the property during the 99-year lease term and will undertake renovations and assume responsibility for leasing. A leasehold of this kind, in which the owners own the building but not the land, is somewhat unusual in the Manhattan real estate market and equates to approximately less than 1 percent of all transactions. The property presently serves as the New York headquarters for Israel Discount Bank, which occupies the entire premises.
Wharton Properties has successfully procured and repositioned various marquee properties throughout New York City. As a major force in the real estate community, Wharton has changed the landscape of many of the major streets in New York, including the gold coast of Fifth Avenue, Times Square, 34th Street, SoHo and the Fulton Street Mall in Downtown Brooklyn, to name a few. Over the past 20 years, Wharton Properties has amassed over 115 buildings in prime locations throughout New York City and the tri-state area.
The Shearman & Sterling team included partners Lisa M. Brill (New York-Real Estate) and Chris M. Smith (New York-Real Estate).
