New York, NY – September 6, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, today announced the signing of four new office leases totaling 15,500 square feet at 5 Hanover Square, bringing the building’s occupancy to 82 percent. The 25-story, 333,000-square-foot multi-tenant office building in Manhattan’s Financial District is in the final stages of a comprehensive capital improvement plan. Savanna has leased 35,000 square feet of space since acquiring the Property in September 2010.
Rockwell Global Capital, which was represented by Gerard Picco and Joseph Armano of Cresa Partners, has signed a 7-year lease on the 15th floor. The boutique securities firm will occupy 6,260 square feet of prebuilt space that was originally built as two separate units, and then combined to fit the company’s requirements for its New York City headquarters.
Jones & Jones, LLP, which was represented by Brett Gartner of Winslow & Company, has signed a 10-year lease for 4,985 square feet on the 10th floor. The law firm is relocating its office from 45 Main Street in Brooklyn, NY, to this prebuilt office space at 5 Hanover Square.
Capital Legal Solutions, a privately held technology firm, has signed a 7-year lease for 2,510 square feet on the 20th floor. The company was represented by Omar Sozkesen of Prime Manhattan Realty and will be moving its offices to 5 Hanover Square in November.
Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), a trade association representing more than 2,500 apartment-building owners in New York City’s five boroughs, has signed a 7-year lease for 1,730 square feet on the 16th floor. CHIP, which was represented by Gabe Isaacs of Sierra Realty, relocated from 377 Broadway in mid-August.
Four other tenants have signed at 5 Hanover Square this year: the Law Offices of Barry Cohen with a new 4,500 square foot lease; Thivierge & Rothberg with a new 2,900 square foot lease; Magna Group with a new 2,900 square foot lease; and Odyssey Financial Technologies, which expanded into 7,500 square feet in a new lease.
“With state-of-the-art amenities, we continue to see tenants relocate to better quality office space as illustrated by the leasing activity at 5 Hanover. Its convenient location, recent renovations, and high-end prebuilt space, make 5 Hanover an ideal choice for tenants,” said Shep Wainwright, a Managing Director of Savanna.
Savanna’s capital improvement plan at 5 Hanover Square includes bathroom and hallway renovations, elevator and major building system upgrades, minor cosmetic improvements to the recently renovated lobby, along with prebuilt suites ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet. Savanna has been investing in base building upgrades and highly designed prebuilt units since purchasing the building in 2010, and the property has undergone over $24 million of renovations and upgrades since 2003.
Savanna was represented by Frank Cento and Jonathan Fein of Cushman & Wakefield in the transactions.
About Savanna
Formed in 1992, Savanna is an institutional real estate private equity firm and asset management company based in New York City and run by Managing Partners Christopher Schlank and Nicholas Bienstock. The firm pursues opportunistic real estate equity and debt asset investments throughout the northeastern United States, focusing on directly owning and operating properties in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metro area. The firm’s equity investments target superior risk-adjusted returns by adding value through asset management and/or property development, redevelopment, and repositioning. Savanna also selectively invests in real estate debt instruments that have the potential to generate equity-like returns, including preferred equity instruments, high-yield bridge and mezza nine loans, and B-notes. Since inception, Savanna has invested more than $1.7 billion in total capital across 15.2 million square feet of real property across multiple asset classes and locations, representing over $3.75 billion in total capitalization.
