EXCLUSIVE: Nine New Leases at Recently Repositioned Club Row
By Jotham Sederstrom December 1, 2011 9:30 am
reprintsSince investing $161 million to take 28 West 44th Street off SL Green’s hands last summer, landlord APF Properties has wasted little time in making upgrades to the 370,000-square-foot asset.
APF Properties re-named the property “The Club Row Building,” a nod to the blue-blooded Ivy League clubs (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, et al) that inhabit the neighboring Club Row, and pledged $18 million in capital improvements, including the lobby and entrances designed by Moed de Armas & Shannon.
Yesterday, APF said it has locked up nine new leases and renewals at a final tally of 50,000 square feet, bringing their occupancy rate up to 93 percent from 87 when they first bought the building, The Commercial Observer has learned.
APF is speaking with a variety of financial service and tech firms that could bring that occupancy rate up by another 3 percent, said Kenneth Aschendorf, principal and founder of APF Properties.
“We have already begun plans in really turning this building into the best of class,” said Mr. Aschendorf. “It’s an extremely well located building that could be a really stellar performer.”
Among the companies either signing or renewing are RLTV, a cable network geared towards an audience ages 50-and-up, and Novos Planning Associates, a financial advisory firm.
Perhaps the most notable new tenant will be APF itself. The firm officially announced their move to 5,000 square feet in the building’s seventh floor. Their move was first reported in June.
Cushman & Wakefield (CWK)’s David Rosenbloom and Joshua Goldman, along with Jonathan Fales and Michael Blanchard (both of the firm’s Strategic Agency Services Group), acted as the exclusive leasing agents for “The Club Row Building.”
Other deals include:
–Invision, Inc. signed a lease to take 13,114 square feet on part of the building’s sixth floor. Dennis Someck from George Comfort & Sons represented the tenant.
–Silbowitz, Garafola, Silbowitz, Schatz & Frederick, LLP renewed its lease for 4,735 square feet on the seventh floor. Bert Rosenblatt and Abe Labaton of Vicus Partners, LLC represented the tenant.
–Gambit Technologies, Inc. renewed its lease for 2,196 square feet on the ninth floor. Corey Abdo from Winoker Realty Company, Inc. represented the tenant.·
–Rule Financial, LLC renewed its lease for 2,002 square feet on the eighth floor. Ricky Kramer from Newmark (NMRK) Knight Frank represented the tenant.
–Larkin Employment Agency, Inc. renewed its lease for 1,235 square feet on the seventh floor. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant and landlord.
–Novos Planning Associates, Inc. renewed its lease and relocated to 1,078 square feet on the 14th floor. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant and landlord.
–RLTV will be opening its first NYC office after agreeing to take 2,868 square feet on the eleventh floor. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant and landlord.
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–Crew Cuts Inc. renewed its lease for 17,773 square feet on the 21st and 22nd floor. Rob Silver of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant.
DRosen@Observer.com
