Real estate investment banking firm Sonnenblick Goldman arranged the financing for locally based Benenson. The loan was provided by an unnamed domestic investment management firm acting for a pension fund client.

"This transaction is particularly unique as it involves a retail co-op, a real estate category that is not known beyond the New York metropolitan area and is of interest to only a very small group of lenders," says Andrew Oliver, Managing Director and Principal at Sonnenblick-Goldman Company.The property, located between Park and Lexington Avenues, consists of 38,300 sf, most of which is leased to Williams-Sonoma Inc. for a Williams-Sonoma store and a Pottery Barn store.

The stores are one-half block from the site of the former Alexander's department store, which is being developed into a mixed-use building that will include Bloomberg L.P.'s new world headquarters, residential condominiums and retail space. "Benenson Capital is known for its strategic, long-term acquisitions, and Williams-Sonoma's 13-year lease will give Benenson a toehold in a neighborhood that is expected to become increasingly upscale in the next few years," adds Oliver.