Financial Observer Article Focuses on Efforts of Lycee Francais to Build New Facility

During 2000, Lycee Francais decided to leave the six townhouses it occupies on the Upper East Side in order to build a unified, single facility designed for an academic purpose. An article entitled "Lycee Francais Lists Beaux-Arts Mansions at over $100 Million" that appeared in the February 12, 2001 issue of The Financial Observer recaps the school's efforts to sell the collection of townhouses, such as switching from a commercial real estate firm to a residential firm and slashing the prices by almost 20 percent.

In January 2001, the Lycee bought a site for the unified facility on York Avenue, between 75th and 76th Streets. It is currently in the process of building the new school, and hopes to open in the fall of 2002.

The Kramer Levin team consisting of Jay Neveloff, James Godman, Leonard Ritz, and M. Frances Buchinsky are working on the sale and simultaneous leaseback (until completion of a new unified location) of these properties. Jay Godman and Leonard Ritz are working on the construction-related agreements with respect to the new location, and Jay Godman and Jonathan Cohen worked on the financing of the purchase of the new site for the school.