Reckson completes round two of $563m sale deal.

Reckson Associates Realty Corp. announced that the company has closed tranche II of the property sale transaction with Reckson New York Property Trust, a Reckson-sponsored Australian property trust.

In the tranche II closing, Reckson sold three suburban core plus office properties containing 760,986 square feet for approximately $84.6 million, including the assignment of approximately $20.1 million of debt.

Approximately $25.1 million of the proceeds are being held by a qualified intermediary in anticipation of the acquisition of a replacement property, thereby allowing Reckson to defer the gain on some of the property sales under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The three properties sold in tranche II were 6800 and 6900 Jericho Turnpike, a 207,583 s/f and a 100,989 s/f building, respectively, located on Long Island, and 710 Bridgeport Avenue, a 452,414 s/f building, located in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The tranche II closing is part of a broader transaction in which Reckson has agreed to sell a portfolio of 25 suburban core plus office properties located in the New York Tri-State area for a total sales price of $563 million. Reckson will retain a 25% indirect interest in the joint venture that is purchasing these properties. In September 2005, Reckson closed on tranche I of the transaction when the Company sold 17 core plus office properties for approximately $367 million.

The final tranche of the transaction is scheduled to be completed in October 2006 when the company will sell the remaining five properties.

The Trust is managed by RAML, an Australian licensed responsible entity which is wholly owned by Reckson Operating Partnership, L.P., an affiliate of Reckson.

Other affiliates of Reckson serve as property manager, leasing agent, asset manager, and construction manager and provide other services to the properties in the Trust portfolio.

Reckson's core growth strategy is focused on the markets surrounding and including New York City.