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Lease of the Week

By Dan Geiger 11/29/11 10:00am

Lease of the Week

641 avenue of the americas

Infor and the Lease Negotiations Behind Its Deal at 641 Avenue of the Americas

Hired to lease 641 Avenue of the Americas earlier this year, Peter Turchin, an executive at the real estate services firm CBRE, quickly knew what potential takers the 170,000-square-foot building could appeal to.

The property is located at the edge of Chelsea, a neighborhood that in recent years has attracted an influx of technology, Internet and social media-related firms. Earlier this year, the area’s rise as the focal point of what is being dubbed a burgeoning “Silicon Alley” in Manhattan was cemented by Google’s $2 billion acquisition of 111 Eighth Avenue, a nearly three-million-square-foot property between 15th and 16th streets where the Internet search and software company bases its New York operations.

Still, Mr. Turchin said he didn’t want to rest on the neighborhood’s credentials alone. Read More

By Dan Geiger 11/22/11 2:30pm

Lease of the Week

175 Varick Street

WeWork Takes New York City

Notwithstanding WeWork’s impressive track record of growth and success in the city, Sean Black knew his tenant wasn’t necessarily going to be an easy sell to landlords.

In just over a year, WeWork had opened three thriving locations, in midtown, Soho and the meatpacking district. The company leases offices, then prepares the facility for smaller tenants and rents out the space on a desk-by-desk basis.
Though there are several companies in the city in what is known as the office-suite business, WeWork has created a distinct concept by constructing space with open floorplans and glass partitioning, a layout that fosters interaction between the tenants. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 11/15/11 1:37pm

Lease of the Week

171 Huguenot Avenue.

During a Year of Hospital Growth, WestMed Medical Deal Stands Out

In an effort to resist the staid tradition of naming businesses after the locality in which they operate, Westchester Medical Group, a physician-run, privately owned medical group in Westchester County, rebranded itself in 2009 as WestMed Medical.

But besides distancing itself from an aging brand name, there was another reason behind the repositioning.

“Everything in the economy is shrinking, so we just shrunk our name,” joked Dr. Simeon Schwartz, the company’s founding president.

Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 11/01/11 11:19am

Lease of the Week

Yelp is on the way.

Yelp is on the Way!

Right from the gate, the Invesco Real Estate-Kaufman Organization partnership behind 100-104 Fifth Avenue followed a simple motto: Go big on tech or go home.

Since acquiring the building in January 2011, the Kaufman Organization has leased 100,000 square feet to new tech tenants, including 45,000 square feet to Apple’s iAd mobile advertising unit.

“We’ve been on a tear,” said Grant Greenspan, a principal at the Kaufman Organization. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 10/25/11 9:49am

Lease of the Week

9 West 57th Street in all its glory.

A Room With A View (Of Central Park)

For an emerging—albeit press-shy—wealth management firm like Forty North Capital LLC, snagging a prime block of office space on the 30th floor of a building that features stupefying views of Central Park and an intimidating list of titanic private equity tenants like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Silver Lake Partners is indeed a bold move.

In August, Forty North signed a 10-year lease to take 17,000 square feet at 9 West 57th Street, a gleaming, 50-story skyscraper owned by real estate titan Sheldon Solow with an address that a business of any shape or size would kill to have on its business card. Read More