December 2014 – Briefs/Leasing & Management

Swire Signs Akerman for 108 KSF at Brickell City Centre

Swire Properties has signed law firm Akerman L.L.P. as the lead office tenant at Brickell City Centre. The firm will occupy 108,000 square feet, or 80 percent of the Class A office space at Brickell City Centre Green, one of two office buildings under construction within the billion dollar mixed-use development. Plans call for Akerman to make the move in 2015. The law firm’s Miami office is the largest of any firm in Florida, with 160 lawyers in one location. Akerman also has played a significant legal role in the development of Brickell City Centre as real estate and land use counsel to Swire.

PRES Signs Healthcare Company to 192 KSF in Anaheim

St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare has taken the largest office lease in Orange County for 2014 with PRES Cos. at 200 Center St. in Anaheim. The healthcare company has signed a 191,556-square-foot long-term lease with the commercial real estate firm for the entire eight-story Class A building, which it will occupy for its administration services with move-in date slated for summer 2015. This lease comes 10 months after PRES Cos. bought the vacant building from Pacific Bell Telephone Co., situated on 1.187 acres in the recently revitalized downtown Anaheim.

NGKF Tapped to Lease Retail at NYC’s Grand Central Terminal

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has won one of the most coveted retail leasing assignments at one of the best-known sites in the country: Grand Central Terminal. NGKF was chosen by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to oversee leasing of the 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space at the historic property. The tenant roster is completely full at the century-old Grand Central, and therein lies the challenge for NGKF. But having a space at this famed location is about as good a guarantee of success any retailer could have. It all boils down to foot traffic, and Grand Central welcomes approximately 750,000 commuters, residents and both national and international tourists daily.

ABS Signs Math for America to 21.5 KSF in Manhattan

ABS Partners Real Estate has signed nonprofit Math for America for an 11-year, 21,536-square-foot lease at 915 Broadway in Manhattan. The company, which focuses on developing teaching methods for secondary education, is relocating from 160 Fifth Ave. The new digs will serve as its headquarters offices. ABS is currently marketing the final piece of the 20-story, 250,000-square-foot building: 8,000 square feet of ground-floor flagship retail space as well as a 3,800-square-foot mezzanine space.

Savills Studley Signs John Wiley & Sons to 386 KSF Renewal in Hoboken

Scholarly journal and teaching publisher John Wiley & Sons Inc. has signed a 15-year lease renewal for 386,407 square feet of office space at 111 River St. on the Hoboken waterfront. The transaction was brokered by Savills Studley. The new lease, which was originally set to expire in 2017, now extends until March 2033. 111 River St. is a 550,000-square-foot office and retail asset developed by SJP Properties in 2002. Wiley has been in the building since it relocated its corporate headquarters from 605 Third Ave. in Manhattan back in 2002. Savills Studley attributes the decision to renew to flexible lease terms and direct access to PATH trains, NJ Transit and ferries.

Transwestern to Lease 1.5 MSF Houston Office Park for Signorelli

Transwestern will be the exclusive leasing agent for Valley Ranch Commerce District, a new office park to be developed in the Houston area, at the Grand Parkway and U.S. 59, immediately north of Kingwood, Texas. The 70-acre, master-planned office park is a project of The Signorelli Co., which plans to build up to 1.5 million square feet of office space, a full-service hotel and conference facilities. The Commerce District reportedly will offer a campus-style setting with natural water features and jogging trails. Along with planned medical, residential, retail and entertainment components, it’s part of the 1,400-acre Valley Ranch master-planned community.

Longust Signs for 94 KSF with Panattoni, Clarion

JLL has represented Longust Distributing in a 10-year, 93,818-square-foot new industrial lease at Anaheim Concourse, a 1.4 million-square-foot, three-phased industry project being developed by Panattoni Development Co. and Clarion Partners in Anaheim, Calif. CBRE represented the landlords in the sale. Longust Distributing is a major wholesale flooring distributor serving the Southwest. The company will occupy the space when it is completed in 2015.

Fifth Third Bank Signs 62 KSF in Detroit

Downtown Detroit’s office market gets a big shot in the arm with Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan’s commitment to relocating its headquarters from the ‘burbs’ to 62,000 square feet of space at the landmark One Woodward Ave. office building. As part of the lease agreement, building owner Bedrock Real Estate Services will rename the 361,000-square-foot high-rise Fifth Third Bank at One Woodward. Fifth Third will leave its current home in Southfield, Mich., for four floors at One Woodward, which has been part of the Bedrock portfolio since late 2012, when parent company Rock Ventures L.L.C. acquired the 29-story building from Lehman Brothers Holdings for approximately $8.6 million. Developed in 1962, One Woodward holds the distinction of being the very first skyscraper designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect behind New York City’s original World Trade Center.