By Gus Delaporte 5/15 10:30am

Lease Beat

120_wall_street_2

Nonprofit Relocates to 120 Wall Street

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers has signed a long-term, 16,506-square-foot lease at Silverstein Properties’ 120 Wall Street, it was announced today.

“After a two-year search of both Midtown South and Downtown, which included inspections of over 50 properties, AIChE elected to relocate to 120 Wall Street, one of the few buildings to provide an incentive program for not-for-profits,” said Leon Manoff, vice chairman at Colliers International, who represented the tenant, in a prepared statement. Read More

By Billy Gray 2/19 11:00am

The Sit-Down

cohen

The Moviegoer: Cohen Brothers Realty’s Charles Cohen Talks Real Estate, Predicts Oscar Winners

Charles Cohen is in the business of creating. As the president and chief executive officer of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, Mr. Cohen oversees a portfolio of properties and design centers in New York, Florida, Texas and California. He also executive produced the Academy Award-winning Frozen River and runs Cohen Media Group, a distributor and producer of foreign and independent films. Mr. Cohen’s father, Sherman Cohen, the developer who built CBRC into a powerhouse with his two brothers, died late last month at 91. And while Mr. Cohen politely declined to answer direct questions about his father, he did speak to The Commercial Observer about his legacy when discussing recent developments at the firm and in New York real estate. Mr. Cohen also spoke enthusiastically about the film industry and this year’s crop of new movies, which will be in the national spotlight when the Academy Awards airs this Sunday.

 

The Commercial Observer: In 2011, you told The Commercial Observer that you and the rest of the real estate industry were moving at 25 miles per hour. What was the speed in 2012?

Mr. Cohen: In New York, we’re going twice as fast as last year, but not fast enough. Read More

By Billy Gray 1/23 7:30am

Lease Beat

14 Wall Street

CPA Society Flees Midtown, Signs at 14 Wall Street

The New York State Society of CPAs signed a full-floor 37,000-square-foot lease at 14 Wall Street and will leave its offices at 3 Park Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets.

The NYSSCPA joins a number of other firms who have left midtown for Lower Manhattan. CBRE‘s Brad Gerla and Jon Cope represented the landlord, Alex Rovt, a Ukrainian fertilizing titan who bought 14 Wall Street last year for $303 million. Jones Lang Lasalle‘s Ellen Herman represented the tenant. Asking rents were in the $40 per square foot range. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 11/08/12 5:45am

The Plan

1400 Broadway.

Hatch Mott MacDonald’s New Layout

When North American engineering consultancy Hatch Mott MacDonald sought to expand and relocate from its offices at 3 Park Avenue, officials explored buildings throughout Midtown and Midtown South, and initially they had no interest in 1400 Broadway, a 35-story building owned by W&H Properties.

All it took to change the minds of the executives, however, was a tour of the building’s 15,088-square-foot 30th floor, a space that, despite its size, boasts four separate terraces, including one that wraps around West 38th Street all the way to Broadway. Such amenities, not to mention the asset’s proximity to Grand Central Station and Penn Station, helped tip the scales in January, when officials inked a full-floor deal.

After the jump, Fred Posniak, a senior vice president at W&H Properties, reviews the floor plans with The Commercial Observer and discusses what, exactly, drew the consulting company to 1400 Broadway in Midtown. Read More