It’s somtimes too easy to lose sight of the positive, particularly when news – as it has been around here lately – is so consistently negative. There are still good things happening both in our industry and here in New York City, though, and so on this Thanksgiving I’d like to point out a number of recent green building news items of note that I think we ought to be thankful for. Links are after the jump. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
November 27th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "green leasing"
SJP Properties Tops Out Concrete Core of 11 Times Square
We can’t stop writing about 11 Times Square here at gbNYC; the project continues to remain fascinating to us on a number of different levels. Designed by FXFOWLE and aiming for a LEED Gold rating, the 40-story tower has yet to land a single tenant despite assurances from developer SJP Properties that the building would be half-filled by this past summer. That, of course, was before the credit crunch, and the project has, at least in our opinion, become the paradigm for green building projects that continue to move forward through the current market turmoil. Still, yesterday, SJP did announce some good news: the building’s 600 foot high concrete core- the tallest ever in Manhattan office building- has topped out. The core will contain all of the building’s infrastructure- utility risers, elevators, and emergency stairwells- and allowed FXFOWLE to design 11 Times Square with fewer perimeter steel columns- a significant green design feature. SJP expects to top the steel out sometime next month and will be ready for yet-to-be-determined tenants by 2010.
October 23rd, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Forest City Ratner Lands Two More Tenants at New York Times Tower
Even as its neighbor on the north side of West 41st Street, 11 Times Square, struggles to land its first tenant, Forest City Ratner Companies has agreed to two new leases at the New York Times Building on 8th Avenue. The deals, which were inked with the Government of Flanders and Autonomy Inc., leave just one space of approximately 6500 square feet remaining in what was the speculative office portion of the building. The Government of Flanders took 7400 square feet on the tower’s 44th floor, where it will open an office of tourism and cultural house. Automony, Inc., which is the second largest software company in Europe, will lease 5375 square feet of space on the 38th floor. CB Richard Ellis represented Forest City in both deals, with NAI Global for Flanders.
October 17th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
ML: Historic Installation for BBG-BBGM -CI Silver Space at Empire State Building
We wrote earlier this summer about Brennan Beer Gorman Architects / Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors’ (”BBG-BBGM”) new headquarters space on the 25th floor of the Empire State Building, which will seek the tower’s first LEED for Commercial Interiors rating. Recently, the 32,000-square-foot project’s general contractor Aragon Construction installed BBG-BBGM’s HVAC system on the building’s first setback on the southwest corner. The two 9500-pound chillers will run independently from the rest of the Empire State Building and were designed to save BBG-BBGM 15 percent on energy consumption over ASHRAE standards. The installation was actually the first in the history of the building and suggests some of the intricacies of both green construction contracts and leasing provisions, including whether the landlord or tenant should be responsible for the installation of such equipment and how any associated savings that are realized might be shared between the two sides.
September 15th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Midtown Midsummer Green Lease Update
Although the local real estate market has certainly cooled in the past few months, leasing activity at two of Midtown’s highest profile green commercial projects continues to remain hot. Marathon Asset Management, which agreed to pay $115 per square foot for the 38th and 39th floors at LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower in early 2007, recently agreed to a 5-year sublet for a portion of its space with Korean financial firm Mirae Asset for $150 per square foot. Although Marathon isn’t the only financial services firm that’s looked to shed space in light of current market conditions, it’s a good sign that demand is still strong for premium Class A space, though whether One Bryant Park’s green features are driving the significant lease premium is obviously pure speculation. Meanwhile, at LEED Gold hopeful, 350,000-square-foot 510 Madison Avenue, only one tenant has signed a lease, albeit at a whopping $150 per square foot.
July 29th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Port Authority Close to Freedom Tower’s First Private Lease with Chinese Real Estate Co.
The New York Observer reported yesterday that the Port Authority has reached a tentative agreement with China’s Beijing Vantone Real Estate Company for 190,000 square feet of space in the LEED Gold hopeful Freedom Tower across its 64th and 69 floors. The firm will pay approximately $80 per square foot for a 22-year lease and create a “China Center” designed to be a cultural and educational portal for Chinese firms looking to do business in the U.S. and American firms interested in similar efforts in China. The news is of particular interest from a green leasing perspective given that Vantone came close two years ago to leasing the very top of Larry Silverstein’s LEED Gold 7 World Trade Center.
June 4th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued