NEW YORK CITY-Madison International Realty and Forest City Enterprises have entered a joint venture on a portfolio of Forest City retail properties. Madison is paying $172.3 million to acquire a 49% stake in the 15-property portfolio, which is valued at $851.5 million including just under $500 million of debt.

The JV entails much of Forest City’s New York City retail, including the 306,000-square-foot 42nd Street Retail and Entertainment Complex and the retail component of Harlem Center in Manhattan. According to a release, Forest City subsidiaries will retain a 51% equity interest, serve as asset and property manager and manage leasing for the JV.

Forest City CEO Charles Ratner says in a statement that the JV “demonstrates both the significant value represented in our mature portfolio, and our continuing ability to create liquidity by monetizing select elements of that portfolio.” He adds that the transaction pairs up his company with “an experienced and well-respected real estate investor in Madison, and we look forward to exploring other mutually beneficial opportunities with them in the future.” Madison president Ronald Dickerman says in a statement, “We believe these assets have the ability to generate above average NOI growth in this under-retailed market.”

In February, Madison closed on its Madison International Real Estate Liquidity Fund IV at $510 million, or $110 million more than the private equity firm’s original target. Dickerman told GlobeSt.com at the time that his company had between $200 million and $300 million of transactions in its pipeline. “We are pursuing numerous opportunities consistent with our unique investment strategy and will issue details as they close,” Dickerman said. That investment strategy focuses on acquiring illiquid and/or partial ownership interests in class A properties and portfolios from investors seeking an early exit strategy.

In addition to the 42nd Street complex and the Harlem Center retail, the JV portfolio includes Atlantic Center, the retail component of Atlantic Terminal and the Heights in Brooklyn; Queens Place, Steinway Street Theatres and Shops at Northern Boulevard in Queens; Shops at Bruckner Boulevard, Castle Center and Shops at Gun Hill Road in the Bronx; Shops at Richmond Avenue and Forest Avenue Cinemas on Staten Island; and Columbia Park in North Bergen, NJ.