Concourse Space Will Become Tenants-Only Fitness Center
NEW YORK CITY, NY – August 25, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Empire State Building and Walgreens have completed a transaction to benefit the building’s neighborhood, tenants, and visitors to its world-famous Observatories. Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, has just renewed its lease on the ground floor of the building’s corner at Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street, and exchanged 10,000 square feet on the concourse level of the property for 10,000 square feet on the second floor.
Walgreens’ new Manhattan flagship location’s second floor will have an entrance to allow Observatory visitors to enter as they finish their visit, says Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings.
The new space, scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012, will allow Observatory visitors the opportunity to access the all-glass second-floor area directly from the Observatory exit line. Consequently, Walgreens will be able to serve the millions of people who visit the Observatories each year, allowing them to satisfy their needs before they head back out into the city for the rest of their day, while continuing to provide a valuable amenity for tenants and the general public.
Meanwhile, the concourse space that Walgreens is vacating will itself become a new building amenity — a tenant-only fitness center.
“Walgreens is designing a space that will fit in perfectly with the upgraded image of their chain in New York City and our property,” says Mr. Malkin. “And it fills a need for our tourist visitors, many of whom are heading back onto the streets with a busy schedule and who have needs that Walgreens will fulfill. Meanwhile, our new tenant-only fitness center will greatly enhance our tenant experience.”
The chain signed a 15-year renewal for its total square footage, which remains 18,818 square feet. Andrew Goldberg, Eric Gelber and Matt Chmielecki represented the landlord in both the renewal and reconfiguration negotiations.
Founded in 1901 and headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Walgreens operates 7,742 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the World’s Most Famous Office Building. With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities totaling more than $550 million, the Empire State Building has attracted and continues to attract corporate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world.
The Empire State Building also has taken a leading role in sustainability, partnering with the Clinton Climate Initiative, Rocky Mountain Institute, Johnson Controls and Jones Lang LaSalle to develop an innovative process for a comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit program that will reduce the building’s total energy consumption by 38% and that has led the building to receive an Energy Star rating of 90, placing it in the top 10% in energy efficiency among all buildings measured under the Energy Star program. The energy retrofit program that contributed to the Energy Star designation is also an important element in the target to seek LEED-EB Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.
The Empire State Building’s upgrades – planned and completed – include a comprehensive restoration of the Art Deco lobby and ceiling, along with the creation of a dedicated 34th Street tenant entrance, visitor desk and access control, messenger center, new restrooms, air-conditioned public corridors, new marble elevator cabs, 6,500 new windows, improvements to the building-wide mechanical and electrical systems, and improved security systems.
Part of the W&H Properties’ Pre-War Trophy office portfolio, the Empire State Building is supervised by Malkin Holdings LLC, one of New York City’s most financially stable ownerships. Additional high-end pre-built office suites are still available throughout the building, along with fully white-boxed partial and full floors ready for tenant build-out from 10,000 square feet, and a contiguous large block of up to 275,000 square feet now available. Broker commissions are paid in full at lease signing.
From: W&H PROPERTIES
Contact:
Rachel Antman or David Grant, LVM Group Inc.
(212) 499-6570; (212) 499-6565
rachel (at) lvmgroup (dot) com; david (at) lvmgroup (dot) com
