Al Gore

Al Gore

HSBC Close to Joining Silverstein at LEED Gold 7 World Trade Center

Wed

Jul

Last June, HSBC announced a five-year, $100 million partnership to address global climate change, agreeing to work with The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund in order to quantify the impact of climate change on the world’s cities, forests, and rivers through extensive field research. Yesterday, sources told GlobeSt.com that the bank is close to continuing its sustainable efforts by leasing 300,000 square feet across seven of the final ten floors available at Larry Silverstein's LEED Gold 7 World Trade Center. Should the deal close, HSBC would likely sell its 500,000-square-foot headquarters tower at 452 Fifth Avenue in Midtown. Asking rents for the final ten floors at 7 WTC are hovering between $75 and $85 per square foot, and HSBC's deal is rumored to be "at term sheet at the moment."

Gore Finalizes 5500 s/f Lease at Bank of America Tower

Tue

May

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

The New York Observer reported earlier today that Al Gore's Generation Investment Management firm has finalized its lease for 5500 square feet on the 48th floor of the Durst Organization’s Bank of America Tower, which expects to receive the first-ever LEED Platinum rating for a commercial high-rise from USGBC. Asking rents at the Midtown tower, which was designed by Cook + Fox, had been hovering around $185/square foot; it’s unclear how much Gore’s firm agreed to pay for the space, but as of last July, this was the asking price for the only two remaining floors in the building. We've commented on the various factors (including the tower's sustainable design features) driving these incredible figures previously; recall that the most recent statistics from Cushman & Wakefield are an average of $93 per square foot for Class A space in Midtown.

Monday LEEDoff*: Homestead Savings Bank, 283 Genesee St., Utica, New York

Mon

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

2 comments

It’s not just Al Gore and other high-profile tenants that are actively looking for green office space. Upstate in Utica, New York, two local businessmen have secured a construction loan from NTB Bank for an $800,000 rehabilitation of the former Homestead Savings Bank at 283 Genesee Street, which will seek an unspecified level of LEED certification. The building will be the new home of Hage & Hage, LLC, a Utica-based law firm since 1930. The building’s assessed value is $218,900, and last week the Utica Industrial Development Agency approved ten-year PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) for the development entity, which is led by Joseph G. Karam and J.K. Hage III, one of the firm’s attorneys. According to Joseph Hobika, Jr., general counsel to the Agency, the project’s alternative energy initiatives made it an extremely attractive candidate for Utica’s PILOT program. Construction should wrap up sometime next spring.

Gore Scores 48th Floor at Bank of America Tower

Wed

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

Back in September, we noted a report in Crain’s that Al Gore’s investment firm, Generation Investment Management LLP, was looking for LEED-certified office space in New York City. Today, Generation announced that it has secured a 5,000-square-foot lease on the 48th floor of the Durst Organization’s Bank of America Tower, which expects to receive the first-ever LEED Platinum rating for a commercial high-rise once it opens up next May. As we’ve noted previously, asking rents at the Midtown tower, which was designed by Cook + Fox, are hovering around $185/square foot; it’s unclear how much Gore’s firm agreed to pay for the space, but as of July, this was the asking price for the only two remaining floors in the building. (By way of comparison, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the average asking rent for Class A office space in Midtown is $70/square foot).

Gore Looking for LEED Office Space in Gotham

Fri

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

0 comments

Al Gore’s investment firm, Generation Investment Management LLP, is looking for green office space in New York City, according to a report that appeared yesterday in Crain’s. Generation was founded back in 2004 and has offices in London and Washington, with another to open in Melbourne next year. The firm donates five percent of its profits to The Generation Foundation, a non-profit organization “dedicated to strengthening the field of sustainable development and sustainability research worldwide.”