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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is accepting proposals from real estate companies seeking to master lease the 13-store retail concourse at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway complex.

The chosen firm would be responsible for selecting and managing subtenants for the 13 stores on the mezzanine level totaling 11,500 square feet, and would bear the associated risks, MTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The firm also would market the space to the public as a retail destination, coordinate and maintain oversight of deliveries and waste disposal, and maintain circulation areas that are adjacent to the stores.

The solicitation marks the first time MTA is seeking to enter into an arrangement with a private firm that will be responsible for subletting individual retail spaces and for maintaining adjoining public areas within the transit system, authority officials said.

In the future, MTA plans to use a similar model to the Fulton Center, which is scheduled to open in lower Manhattan in June 2014.

“It is imperative that the MTA find new ways to reduce expenses and make the most out of its real estate portfolio,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.