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Rande Gerber's Midnight Oil Company set to open 5,500-square-foot bar/lounge at AOL Time Warner Center

Rande Gerber's Midnight Oil Company, the country's premier nightlife organization, announced today the development of a 5,500 square foot bar/lounge to be located in the AOL Time Warner Center, the landmark development scheduled to open in the Fall 2003 at Columbus Circle. In a slight departure from the motif of Mr. Gerber's other ventures, including THE WHISKEY in New York and Los Angeles and WHISKEY SKY in Chicago and Las Vegas, the bar/lounge will offer guests a return to the classic hotel lounge experience, featuring contemporary decor created to accentuate the projects overall tone and design.

"I am taking a slightly different approach with this venture compared to our other properties across the country," said Mr. Gerber. "Everything from the design to furnishings, lighting and music will be a bit more sophisticated and elegant, while still maintaining a chic and sexy lounge that our guests expect from us."

According to Kenneth A. Himmel, president and CEO of the mixed use division of The Related Companies, "When plans for a lounge at the AOL Time Warner Center were initially conceptualized, we envisioned a warm, elegant and sexy setting created as a homage to the world's most unforgettable hotel lounges. Through the addition of Mr. Gerber's team to this project, we believe that we will be successful in creating a timeless centerpiece for our entertainment and dining center."

"With numerous high profile locations across the country, Mr. Gerber's company was the ideal choice to head up the launch of our bar/lounge at AOL Time Warner Center," added Stephen M. Ross, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies, a development partner.

The new bar/lounge will be part of the retail, entertainment and dining component of the new complex known as The Shops at Columbus Circle. It is estimated that 17 to 20 million people will go through the complex each year. The dining complex will include six world-class restaurants on the third and fourth floors of the Center, including establishments from Thomas Keller and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Over the last decade, Midnight Oil Company has become the most powerful and influential nightlife company in the country with 20 properties in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Boston, Aspen, Chicago and Las Vegas. The company has continued its success by opening bars and lounges across the country, creating a national network of hip, sophisticated, gathering places that offer both intimacy and action.

 

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About AOL Time Warner Center Scheduled for completion in Fall 2003, the 2.1-million square-foot landmark development currently under construction on Columbus Circle will be the largest mixed-use complex ever constructed in New York history. The complex, designed by David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, is being developed by The Related Companies, L.P. and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, L.P. The project will feature the new world headquarters of AOL Time Warner, a Jazz at Lincoln Center performing arts facility with 3 main performance venues totaling 1,970 seats, rehearsal and recording studios and classrooms, The Shops at Columbus Circle featuring luxury and specialty retail shops and fine dining, the One Central Park residential condominiums containing 191 luxury apartments, a 251 room five-star Mandarin Oriental, New York , 200,000 square feet of state-of-the-art Class A office space, and a 504 stall valet parking garage.

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