News
WHAT BECAME OF AN HQ TOWN
January 9, 2012
| Once upon a time, Westchester was a headquarters hot spot, but that reputation has gone the way of the dodo and handwritten notes. Landlords learned to roll with the punches and repositioned their buildings as multi-tenant. And now the repositioning continues as owners and investors consider alternative uses like a cancer treatment center and fitness centers. |
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| CBRE’s Al Gutierrez tells us Westchester once was home to larger space users, “ the Texacos of the world,” like Altria, Reader's Digest, Verizon, and more recently Nokia. IBM—which had millions of square feet in the county, including 44 S Broadway and 1133 Westchester Ave—has mostly consolidated into its Armonk HQ. Verizon has downsized, Nokia is out, and Starwood Hotels is leaving for Stamford. (In case anyone is getting nervous, Heinekin’s US HQ is still here.) But, Al says, the I-287 corridor is gaining new life with out-of-the-box plans like Liftetime Fitness' re-use of the old Gannett building and Memorial Sloan-Kettering's intention to build a cancer treatment center at Verizon's former 500 Westchester Ave. (This seems like an opportune time to remind you we've got a NY Healthcare Real Estate Summit coming up Jan. 17 at The Roosevelt Hotel and that you can sign up here!) |
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| Al and his team are marketing the 233k SF 1111 Westchester Ave and its 147k SF sister building at 1129 Westchester Ave for 10-year sublet (whether the entire park, either building, or in blocks of 20k SF). Starwood had sublet 1111 Westchester for its world HQ from Nine West but is leaving on Feb. 28. Al says he’s had a good number of showings and started some negotiations, but no deals have landed just yet. |
