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. Carlton Advisory Services arranged the $525 million deal between Carlyle, Crown and Kushner as well as the lending syndicate, which included Barclays and SL Green. The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $82.7 billion of assets under management, including several retail businesses. Crown Acquisitions was founded by Stanley Chera and has amassed an ownership interest in more than 15 million square feet of retail and office property throughout North America -- its holdings include such recognizable buildings as World Trade Center towers 2, 3 and 4; Herald Center; 551 Fifth Avenue; 600 Broadway; 717 Fifth Avenue and 598 Madison Avenue in New York; 645 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL; and the Miami Merchant’s Mart in Miami, FL. For more information, see CoStar COMPS ID# 1548428.