Alan Victor, EVP of the Lansco Corporation, and a veteran
retail broker who helped to pioneer the concept of the pricey luxury retail
flagship store, died on Friday at the age of 80 from complications of
Parkinson’s disease.
Mr Victor closed more mega deals and accomplished more for Manhattan’s retail renaissance than any other real estate broker.
In one of the most high profile and influential retail
transactions in the past quarter century – a feat that could ultimately define
his extraordinary career – he brokered a 49 year lease of the 24,000 s/f
Rhinelander mansion located at 72nd Street on behalf of his client, Polo Ralph
Lauren.
This 1986 deal marked the first time a world famous designer
leased a super flagship store in Manhattan, not only changing the Madison
Avenue retail market, but also paving the way for other designers to follow.
Mr Victor went on to broker the net lease of 601 Madison
Avenue (the former George Jensen Building) for Emporio Armani, as well as the
net lease of 42 East 57th Street for Turnbull & Asser.
He also played a major role in shaping the character of many
retail districts in New York. On 57th Street, he represented Alfred Dunhill of
London at 450 Park Avenue, negotiated
the 95,000 s/f NIKETOWN net lease of the former Galleries Lafayette site and
the 75,000 s/f Warner Bros. Studio Store.
Mr Victor’s contributions to the return of retail elegance
along Fifth Avenue includeed encouraging Gianni Versace to lease the former
Olympic Airways Building for its giant world flagship store and advocating the
launch of Cole Haan’s second Manhattan store at 630 Fifth Avenue in Rockefeller
Center.
A graduate of Boston University, Mr Victor also attended Boston
University Law School.
