It's Mason vs. Macklowe

Steve Cuozzo

REALTY CHECK

In the annals of Manhattan landlord-tenant battles, this one figures to be a doozy -- call it "When Harry Met Alice."

Harry Macklowe is buying one of the Upper East Side's swankiest pre-war rental apartment buildings and plans to convert it to condos, sources said. The developer, rebounding from the loss of much of his empire, is in contract to purchase 150 E. 72nd St. at Lexington Ave. -- home to legendary residential real estate broker Alice Mason, Marc Rosen and Arlene Dahl, and interior designer Milly de Cabrol.

Sources said Macklowe just put a deposit down on a $70 million purchase of the property, which is owned by a member of the family that's held title for 60 years and her late brother's estate.

Brigitte Stelzer

Harry Macklowe, bouncing back from the loss of much of his empire, has a contract to buy 150 E. 72nd St., the rental apartment building which is home to legendary real-estate broker Alice Mason. Macklowe plans to turn it into condos. But are rent-stabilized Mason and others willing to sell?

The handsome, 12-story building, erected in 1914, has a mere 34 apartments. It's prized for its huge apartments, which average more than 2,500 square feet, and its tony retail tenants, including Archivia Books and Peter Elliot.

Mason -- who in her illustrious career sold apartments to Marilyn Monroe, Vanderbilts and Wall Street scions -- closed her office last year.

She briefly ran a smaller version of the business out of her famously rent-stabilized, 2,043 square-foot, eight-room apartment -- scene of glamorous dinner parties -- for which she pays $2,089 a month.

According to a brochure distributed by Howard Michaels' Carlton Group, as described by an employee of one fund which received it, Macklowe is trying to raise $35.4 million from joint-venture equity partners. The brochure is not a formal prospectus but a pitch to gauge interest on the part of prospective investors.

The project's total capitalization, including costs associated with the condo conversion, is $117 million. It was unclear whether that amount would include the cost of buying out tenants. According to a person who has read the Carlton flyer, of 34 apartments, six are occupied by rent-stabilized tenants and two are rent-controlled.

Although nine apartments are vacant -- meaning no problem achieving the 15 percent threshold needed to make a condo plan effective -- other issues might block a quick windfall.

Mason, 80, told us she's now retired, and "I'm here under rent stabilization for 48 years. My new lease, which started Feb. 1, is slightly over $2,000."

While unwilling to comment on Macklowe's prospects, she chuckled, "The maintenance alone [if she bought] would be more than my rent."

Problems have bedeviled developers who bought high- profile rental buildings in recent years with overly optimistic assumptions about swift condo conversion -- among them, Man hattan House, the Ap thorp, the Sheffield and 220 Central Park South.

Moreover, res idents of 150 E. 72nd St. told us the building en joyed J-51 tax benefits until sev eral years ago. Court rulings against Tishman Speyer over Stuyvesant Town -- where it was not trying to sell condos, but rather to bring rent-stabilized apartments to market-rate status -- continue to shadow properties around town where J-51 was in effect. Since then, the state Legislature has been mulling making decontrol even more difficult.

But there could be a big upside -- 150 E. 72nd St. has 15,000 square feet of unused air rights Macklowe would tap to construct new penthouses on the roof. Since it's in the Upper East Side Historic District, the addition would require the blessing of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The building was long owned by squabbling members of the Martin family, including the only surviving sibling, Therese Martin, who lives there and owns 50 percent of the property.

Residents say the remaining 50 percent is owned by several Catholic church organizations to whom her late brother, Eugene, bequeathed his share, and an unidentified investor who bought out some of the church beneficiaries.

The owners previously tried to sell the building to Arsenal Holdings, which never closed the deal. A second, unidentified buyer also either backed out of a deal or was bumped for Macklowe.

The Macklowe deal was brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle's capital markets team -- Ron Cohen, Richard Baxter, Scott Latham and Jonathan Caplan. Calls to their offices, to Michaels and to Arsenal were not returned.

An aide in Macklowe's office said, "He does not comment." scuozzo@nypost.com