After looking high and low, as well as east and west, Continuum Health Partners signed a 15-year renewal for 112,941 square feet at 555 W. 57th St. between 10th and 11th Avenues for its headquarters and administrative offices.
The nonprofit hospital system, which includes Beth Israel, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, St. Luke’s and nearby Roosevelt Hospital, will remain on the entire 5th and 19th floors. The early renewal, made in the mid-$40s a foot, includes some free rent and work, sources said.
A Cushman & Wakefield team of Josh Kuriloff, Michael Rotchford, David Heller and Monica Quaintance represented Continuum. Steve Durels of SL Green Realty handled the deal for the ownership in-house.
Over the two-year search, the team seriously investigated buildings that included its owned properties, as well as 100 Church St. and 40 Wall St. downtown.
In the end, they cut a deal that enabled them to be near their hospitals. “There are large, efficient floors,” said Kuriloff. “And the board liked the strategy of locking in a new lease at the bottom of a real estate cycle.”
The deal was one of the largest leases so far during this second half of 2011.
Continuum Health Partners was formed in 1997 as a partnership of Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s Hospital and Roosevelt Hospital, with New York Eye and Ear joining the partnership three years later.
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While 40 Wall didn’t win over Continuum, there were plenty of other takers.
Over the past 100 days, eight new leases encompassing 160,000 square feet were completed at The Trump Organization’s building. The asking rents ranged from $32 to $50 a foot in the tower portions of the 72-story building, which was represented by the Cushman & Wakefield team of Jeffrey Lichtenberg, Jared Horowitz and Andrew Peretz.
The structural engineers of Weidlinger Associates are relocating to 61,082 square feet on the entire 18th and 19th floors from 375 Hudson St. in Tribeca. Weidlinger was represented by Joe Messina of Studley.
The consulting engineers at Leslie E. Robertson Associates have leased 20,000 square feet on a portion of the 23rd floor under the direction of Stephen Schofel of Newmark Knight Frank.
Huron Consulting Services signed a lease for 29,000 square feet on the 20th floor, where they will move from 1120 Ave. of the Americas, through Lisa Kiell at Jones Lang LaSalle.
IBIS World, represented by Chris Marx of Studley in New Jersey, targeted 6,000 feet but ended up restructuring and signing a lease for 18,000 square feet on part of the 15th floor.
Another 12,000 feet on the 15th floor was leased by SS&C Technologies, which will expand and move there from within the building, through Michael Cohen of Colliers International.
The American Precious Metals Exchange signed a lease through Jared Horowitz of C&W for the entire 50th floor of 9,248 square feet as it expands from its Oklahoma City base.
Rosabianca & Associates moved and expanded to a 5,433 square-foot part of the 30th floor, while Prodigy Network NY is moving into Rosabianca’s former space of 3,616 square feet on the 31st floor.
“Donny Jr.’s happy,” said Horowitz of Donald Trump Jr. “He has a lot of deals and has been instrumental in engineering this turnaround.”
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The possibility of getting new office space at Hudson Yards is starting to attract more than just Coach.
As we were the first to report, the luxury-goods maker signed a deal to buy 600,000 square feet in Related Cos. and Canadian-based Oxford Properties Group’s upcoming 1.7 million square-foot tower by West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue. Coach was represented by Mary Ann Tighe and Gregory Tosko of CBRE.
Now we’re hearing that Time Warner, which under CEO Jeff Bewkes is intent on downsizing from its owned 864,000 square-foot space at the Time Warner Center and other city locations, may be approached to make a swap to smaller but newer digs in Hudson Yards.
The swap is part of a tax-free exchange dream scheme that is in the very early stages — it’s been described as so preliminary it’s still being hatched as wishful thinking by Related Cos. Chairman Stephen Ross.
Under the scheme, rather than juggling the sale of its office condo and finding new digs, Time Warner could simply downsize into new space in a new Related tower at Hudson Yards.
That would leave Related owning more centrally located office space on top of the Columbus Circle transportation hub, while filling up more of its 5 million square feet on the far West Side.
There was no comment from Related, but a Time Warner spokesman said that so far, he’d not heard that swap option.
“We’ve really just begun this initiative and begun looking at our footprint in the New York area,” he said. “We have lease expirations at the end of the decade. Every option is on the table.
“It could be staying put in a couple of the buildings or moving into a couple of buildings that we already own,” he added, including the Time Warner Center.
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Paris-based lingerie company Chantelle has expanded and extended its 10,908 square-foot lease for another 10 years at 183 Madison Ave.
Chantelle was represented by Gregg Lorberbaum of Centric Real Estate Advisors, while the building owner was represented by Harry Blair of Cushman & Wakefield. The asking rent was $52 a foot.
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The financial firm Brencourt Advisors is moving from 12,000 square feet at 600 Lexington Ave. and expanding into a 17,000 square-foot sublease on the 30th floor of 280 Park Avenue.
Brencourt was represented by Newmark Knight Frank’s Daniel K. Madison and John Moran III, while Studley’s John Johnson and Camille McGratty represented the sublandlord, Landesbank Baden-WÃ 1/4rttemberg, in the deal.
Moran said the transaction was appealing because of its location, a high-end installation and flexibility for future growth. He declined to discuss finances, but sources said the initial asking rent was more than $100 per foot.
The building is also about to undergo a capital infusement program thanks to its new ownership venture that includes Vornado Realty Trust and SL Green Realty.
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The future Willow Hotel just completed the purchase of 18,075 square feet of air rights for $4,066,875, or $225 per buildable foot. These transferable development rights, or TDRs, came from the Broadhurst Theater through the special district rules that enable landmark Broadway theaters to sell excess air to projects within a specified Times Square area.
“The closing of our air rights caught up with our design,” said Jeff Harvey of Ark Partners, the hotel’s developer.
The Willow is under construction at 120 W. 57th St. on the south side of the street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, on leased land next to Le Parker Meridien. Across the street, Extell’s Park Hyatt is rising up the block to the west.
Roman & Williams is designing the interiors and facade with Gene Kaufman as the architect of record with the Buildings Dept. The 29-story, 128,488 square-foot hotel will have 250 rooms.
A pool, lobby and rooftop bars are also scheduled for inclusion when the hotel opens in 2013.
A Lodging Economics study predicted a whopping 122 hotels opening between those opened this year and those that are on the way, providing more choices but perhaps keeping room rates level.
