Sutton buys UES co-op to improve retail space

Taking a page from their success in Times Square, Jeff Sutton and SL Green Realty are taking unusual steps to expand a retail space they own on the Upper East Side. The New York Post reported that Jeff Sutton purchased a $2.6 million duplex co-op at 30 East 65th Street, in The Same Building Along Madison Avenue where he and SL Green acquired the 9,800-square-foot ground-floor retail space for $66.25 million last July.

The co-op unit can be merged into the street retail of the building. The Post said the extra space can be used to create two high-ceilinged Madison Avenue storefronts where one formerly existed. The store is currently under short-term lease to Escada.

The move, which required Sutton to help the owner of the duplex find another apartment, is reminiscent of several maneuvers the joint venture has made at 1552 Broadway to expand the size and increase the value of the retail space. Those deals helped lure fashion retailer Express into a record $23 million lease. [Post, 4th item]