Waterman formed an equity joint venture to acquire the property with institutional advised by JPMorgan Asset Management-Real Estate. Waterman Interests will serve as the managing member of the ownership entity and will provide all property management, leasing and financing services.

Completely reconstructed in 1989, the property's largest tenant is a division of cosmetics company Estée Lauder Inc., which leases all of the building's office premises through 2018. The building's retail tenants, which comprise 12,500 sf, include Lacoste, Swiss Army, Stuart Moore, Melru, True Religion and Georg Jensen.

"We are delighted to own the highest quality asset in SoHo—a property whose value will only improve as lower Manhattan continues its renaissance in tandem with our asset strategy," says Philip Waterman III, founder and managing member of Waterman Interests, who previously ran the New York City division of Reckson Associates Realty Corp. prior to its merger with SL Green Inc. He formed Waterman in February 2007.

"I had always had a bullish view on SoHo," Waterman tells GlobeSt.com. "Gaining an asset with great quality in an unparallel location, along with great credit from an investment loan standpoint, is a wonderful way to launch the business."

Waterman continues to explain a number of aspects about the property that attracted him. "A number of the retail tenants will have leases expiring in the next few years, which means there will be retail repositioning, the market has a run-up in valuation and there are great returns in this prime location."

CB Richard Ellis represented the ownership of the property in the sale transaction.

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Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.