News
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
March 2, 2011
| “The West Side is where people want to be,” said Cushman & Wakefield chairman of global brokerage Bruce Mosler, opening this morning’s Bisnow Evolution of Times Square and the West Sideevent. Indeed, it’s where 425 joined us to hear a cavalcade of real estate stars (yes, that's the legendary Larry Silverstein below) atEleven Times Square. |
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| Larry, one of the earliest believers in the West Side, chronicled his journey from 1984, when he purchased the industrially zoned block of 42nd St between Eleventh and Twelfth for $20M. “For some reason, I saw opportunity,” he says, “and had belief that it would have success with rezoning.” Despite dubious government officials who had never seen such a commitment, lawsuits, and market downturns, his firm eventually built One River Place and Silver Towers, and now 2,200 families live in the one square block. Developers have paid an enormous amount of attention to this, and now there’s a mass influxof residential development in the area, he points out. |
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| Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer stopped by for a one-on-one with our publisher Mark Bisnow, and urges NYC to stop doing groundbreakings and instead focus on vital infrastructure projects, like the 7 Line extension and Moynihan Station (the latter of which is projected to create 10,000 jobs). It’s also important to think about how we’re going to fund these projects, big and small; he recommends a regional infrastructure bank. And when the government makes bold decisions for the city—for instance, the pedestrian mall in Times Square—it has to be judicious in how it approaches the business community, he says. “Ask how we are doing,” he suggests. “Government and business have to partner more, as the balance will make us better off.” |
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| And here's a view of the audience during the event, nicely arranged on the vacant 34th floor of Steve Posycki’s new 1.1M SF tower at the corner of Eighth and 42nd, right next to the “new” New York Times Building. It’s LEED Gold with floor-to-ceiling windows, state-of-the art air filtration, and the rest. Top buildings no longer seem to be called trophies in the Big Apple—the new nomenclature (to judge from marketing brochures) seems to be: “iconic.” |
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| Who needs Broadway when you’ve got this cast of star panelists? Robert K. Futterman chairman Robert Futterman, Related Hudson Yards president Jay Cross, Silverstein Properties CEO Larry Silverstein, CBRE chairman of global brokerage Steve Siegel, Proskauer Rose partner Ron Sernau, Africa-Israel USA general counsel and managing director of business affairs Laurie Golub, SJP Properties chairman Steve Pozycki, and Bruce Mosler, who moderated the panel discussion. |
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| The recession may have hit the city hard, but AFI never doubted the Times Square market, says Laurie, whom we snapped with Ron and Steve Pozycki. The company purchased the former New York TimesHQ—now the Times Square Building—in ’07, with the intent to lease it as office space. But changing market needs encouraged AFI to instead redevelop the building into hotel, retail, and residential, and it’s now 70% leased by tenants “looking for the Times Square experience,” she points out, including Daffy’s, Bowlmor, andDiscoveryTSX. Robert, who works with AFI on the retail leasing, says that national retailers like Aeropostale and Forever 21 are flocking to Times Square and demand, coupled with limited space, has sent rents into the stratosphere—as high as $800 to $1,000/SF. Now, interest is shifting west to Eighth Avenue. |
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| The 7 Line extension is going to particularly bode well for the West Side, according to Jay (second from left, with Robert, Larry, and Steve Siegel). He said Related is anxious to sign deals, and the large commercial tenants are what will get the neighborhood moving. If all goes as planned, Hudson Yards will start construction next year, with the first building delivering in ’15 and the second in ’16. “I remember when people didn’t want to go west of Fifth Avenue,” Steve said. Now, these tenants will create a new, eclectic corporate corridor, “and Eighth will be the new Sixth… almost a city within a city.” |
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| Proskauer was one company that believed in Eighth Avenue, moving from 1585 Broadway to Eleven Times Square. “We’re energized in our new space,” Ron says (and as a lawyer, he sure spends plenty of hours in his office). Building Eleven Times Square made all the sense in the world, especially with the westward movementDowntown and moving north, says Steve Pozycki. Air quality will be a big advantage for buildings, he notes, pointing to Eleven’s systems, built beyond LEED Platinum requirements. “You see less absenteeism and better productivity, and it will draw people here.” |
