All Posts Tagged With: "Inc."

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.

The Principal Financial Group recently earned an unspecified level of LEED for Commercial Interiors (”LEED-CI”) certification for its corporate headquarters space on the 25th floor of 888 Seventh Avenue in Midtown. Designed by M Moser Associates, the 19,800-square-foot office includes extensive natural daylighting, low-flow water fixtures, and other energy-efficient systems. The space was designed to achieve a 15 percent reduction in energy consumption through occupancy sensors and programmable, efficient HVAC units. The project team also included Synergy Construction, Inc. with LEED consultants OMNIBUILD, and only required seven months to complete. 888 Seventh Avenue, located on West 57th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, includes 46 stories of office space, was built in 1969, and is owned by Vornado Realty Trust. Other major tenants include New Line Cinema and The Corcoran Group.

gbNYC selects green news items of note that were reported across the New York City area during the week of September 7, 2008, including remarks from Bruce Fowle on a proposed zero carbon museum along the Housatonic River in Massachusetts, the opening of a 44,000-square-foot New York City headquarters space for Phoenix-based solar panel provider First Solar in the New York Times Tower, remarks from Larry Silverstein and others on the future of the World Trade Center site, including its numerous proposed green engineering features, and a lottery upstate for families to purchase affordable homes designed to LEED specifications.

Modular Homes, Inc. (“MHI”) is an Edison, New Jersey-based custom modular home builder that will break ground in April on what it hopes will be a LEED-certified model home in Robbinsville, New Jersey. MHI homes are built from wood and individual modules are delivered with maximum dimensions of 16’ wide x 75’ long x 14’ high. Homes arrive on site with all finishes, as well as doors, cabinets, appliances, and lights, installed. Modular construction is obviously much more environment-friendly than traditional construction, as individual components are prefabricated off-site.

The prospects for the first completely green Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT, are closer to becoming reality. A well-known pioneer in the commercial real estate industry has registered an offering with the SEC for a REIT called Green Realty Trust, Inc. As reported first by CoStar Group, Rob Hannah, CEO and co-founder of TSG Real Estate, a Chicago firm, has made what appears to be the first foray into an all-green REIT. Green Realty Trust has devised an investment strategy that aims to meet the need of increasing demand by commercial users and tenants for green standards by increasing the supply of green buildings for lease. The REIT has set up a Green Advisory Council made up of industry experts that will provide analysis on possible acquisitions. According to the CoStar article, Hannah plans to focus the REIT’s acquisition efforts on existing buildings rather than new construction to try and narrow the list of direct competitors.