By Billy Gray 4/09 3:43pm

Lease Beat

AppNexus's existing office on the fifth floor of 28-40 West 23rd Street.

AppNexus Extends, Expands to Total 220,000 Square Feet at 28-40 West 23rd Street

AppNexus signed a 10-year lease extension and expansion that will give the advertising technology platform a 220,000-square-foot footprint at 28-40 West 23rd Street.

The company’s latest lease for 220,000 square feet–130,000 square feet of it an expansion–in the Flatiron District tower comes nine months after a 24,500-square-foot expansion. AppNexus arrived at the 600,000-square-foot tower about three years ago, initially signing for 24,500 square feet.

Mark Weiss and Rob Eisenberg of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant. Michael Cohen and Andrew Roos of Colliers International, who are both part owners of the building, represented the landlords. Read More

By Billy Gray 1/03 7:45am

Lease Beat

450px-Carnegie_Hall_Tower

Entertainment Law Firm Grubman Indursky Shire & Meiselas Renews at Carnegie Hall Tower

Law firm to the stars Grubman Indursky Shire & Meiselas will stay grounded at Carnegie Hall Tower after renewing its 26,000-square-foot lease at the Midtown building.

The entertainment firm, which lists Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and U2 among its clients, will pay rents in the $90 per square foot range for the 30th, 31st and partial 32nd floors of the tower, where it has maintained offices since 1991.

Michael Cohen, the tristate president of Colliers International, represented the tenant. Matt Leon, a broker at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the owner, TF Cornerstone, alongside in-house representative Chip Sealy. Read More

By Michael Ewing 11/07/12 7:45am

Midtown

Times Square South Boundaries.

What’s in a Name: Garment District, Chelsea North or Times Square South?

It’s been commonly known as the Garment District, but with the recent surge of tech industries moving into the area, some are calling Times Square South by a new name: Chelsea North. Confused?

“The market has changed dramatically,” said Diana Gaines, a senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, of Times Square South. “The area called Times Square South has traditionally been known as the Garment Center. In the last few years, this has become less and less the norm.” Read More

By Michael Ewing 11/07/12 7:45am

Midtown

West Side Boundaries.

Migration to Hudson Yards Predicted

The West Side of Midtown has increased its presence in the commercial real estate market within the past 20 years. The market now boasts a vacancy rate below 10 percent across all assets.

“To understand this market, it’s important to view it in the context of the history of the last 25 years,” explained Mitch Arkin, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield. “In the ’80s, the market started pushing west with the development of Carnegie Hall Tower, the Equitable Building, 787 Seventh Avenue, followed by 1585 Broadway, 1540 Broadway, 750 Seventh Avenue, Worldwide Plaza, 1745 Broadway [and] Metropolitan Tower. Those buildings all brought Eighth Avenue and Broadway north of Times Square into Midtown.” Read More

By Michael Ewing 11/07/12 7:30am

Midtown

Rockefeller Center Boundaries.

Leasing Sluggish Along Sixth Avenue in Rockefeller Center Submarket

Built by the Rockefeller family in the 1930s, Rockefeller Center is one of the largest commercial real estate developments to be built in the past century. Initially spanning approximately two dozen buildings, 22 acres and over 8,000,000 square feet, the district has further expanded in recent years to include a few dozen additional buildings along the Sixth Avenue corridor.

“There has also been a significant slowdown of leasing along the Sixth Avenue corridor, particularly Class A leasing, where leasing in the first half of 2012 was about half the long-term average,” said Melissa Bazar, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield. “Since the Sixth Avenue corridor is dominated by large corporate users and financial firms, we expect leasing to remain sluggish through the balance of 2012, below the long-term average.”

Inventory has increased from 9.3 percent to 10.5 percent this past year, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s third-quarter report. Read More

By Michael Ewing 11/07/12 7:15am

Midtown

Penn Plaza Boundaries.

Google’s Presence in Penn Plaza Draws New Media and Advertising Agencies

Penn Plaza, the area surrounding Penn Station, has historically been a hub for firms that rely on transportation, namely the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit. Recent development, however, has taken the district in a new direction.

“We are seeing a wave of social media, advertising, marketing and high fashion tenants taking advantage of the still favorable value differential in the Penn Station submarket,” said Kevin Hoo, the vice president of Savanna. “Google’s presence at 111 Eighth Avenue and the tightening in that market has also begun to drive creative tenants northward into this submarket.

“We think that the transformation of Manhattan’s West Side has already begun and that these new tenants continue to provide increasing momentum in that direction,” Mr. Hoo added. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 6/26/12 10:00am

The Sit-Down

Joseph Harbert.

Colliers International Pres. Joe Harbert Hopes to Recreate His Success at ESG

In May, Joseph Harbert left brokerage and services firm Cushman & Wakefield after eight years managing the company’s New York City brokerage operations, switching to Colliers International, where he assumed the role of eastern regional president. The move offered Mr. Harbert a higher-level management position and oversight of a broader geography in an ambitious company eager to compete with more established brokerage powers. Mr. Harbert dished with The Commercial Observer about leaving Cushman, Colliers without Mark Jaccom, Howard Lutnick’s aggressive tactics, wooing Howard Grufferman and his relationship with the late Edward Gordon.
Read More

By Daniel Geiger 5/30/12 4:49pm

The Lobby

Joe Harbert

Joseph Harbert Envisions Colliers In The Top Tier

Joseph Harbert’s surprise jump from Cushman & Wakefield to Colliers International earlier this month puts him at the forefront of the company’s push to become one of the top real estate services firms.

“Our goal is to break into the top five,” Mr. Harbert told The Commercial Observer in his first conversation since joining Colliers Read More

By Daniel Geiger 3/05/12 8:00am

Prebuilts

Fast Office Set to Make Fast Prebuilts

Prebuilt offices, prepared spaces that allow tenants to quickly take occupancy in a building, are about to get even quicker.

Michael Cohen, CEO of the real estate services firm Colliers International, is using a new type of office installation system called Fast Office at 57 West 57th Street, a 21-story, 170,000 square foot office tower that Mr. Cohen owns. Read More

By Dan Geiger 11/30/11 10:08am

Lease Beat

1140 Broadway.

The Starbucks Deal at 1140 Broadway

Not many landlords would have reason to celebrate landing a deal with Starbucks, a nearly ubiquitous retail presence in Manhattan.

But at 1140 Broadway, a roughly 200,000 square foot building owned by Colliers International executives Andy Roos and Michael Cohen, the deal the pair recently negotiated with the coffeehouse giant felt notable. Read More