Metropolitan Real Estate Relocating to 650 Fifth Avenue
By Al Barbarino April 23, 2013 8:00 am
reprintsInternational investment advisory firm Metropolitan Real Estate is moving its New York headquarters from 135 East 57th Street to 650 Fifth Avenue, The Commercial Observer has learned.
The firm signed an 11-year lease for 11,289 square feet, taking the entire 29th floor of the 36-story, 382,500-square-foot office building located in the Plaza District on 52nd Street, on the northern edge of Rockefeller Center.
“We are excited to add Metropolitan Real Estate to the growing list of excellent tenants at 650 Fifth Avenue,” said Dr. Houshang Ahmadi, president of the not-for-profit Alavi Foundation, the majority owner and managing partner of 650 Fifth Avenue Company.
CBRE (CBRE)‘s Robert Stillman, Paul Haskin and Zachary Freeman represented 650 Fifth Avenue in the transaction, while Paul Kotcher of Brickman & Associates represented the tenant.
“650 Fifth Avenue offered what Metropolitan Real Estate was looking for, and we are pleased to have secured an entire floor lease at the property,” Mr. Kotcher said.
CBRE is the exclusive office leasing agent and property manager of the building. The property recently underwent an $11 million lobby renovation, completed in July, and ownership is budgeting to improve the common areas on each of the floors and upgrade security systems as leasing efforts ramp up.
“There has been strong interest in 650 Fifth Avenue due to the completion of our extensive capital improvement program, the quality of our space,” and the excellent location, Mr. Haskin said.
Last month, TGM Associates, a New York-based investment advisory firm focused on multifamily properties, renewed its 11,280 square-foot lease on the 28th floor.
That deal was the second major lease renewal for the property since the beginning of the year, when Korea-based financial institution Hana Bank signed a 10-year, 7,318 square-foot renewal on the 15th floor.
The building, located along the Fifth Avenue retail corridor, is home to a number of international banks – Sanin-Godo Bank, Sterling Bank and Delta Bank among them – as well as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the offices of fashion designer Joseph Abboud.
