Edelman to Hudson Sq. Global public relations firm Edelman announced its plan last week to take more than 125,000 square feet of space in Hudson Square, adding to the ever-growing list of media companies flocking to the neighborhood from Midtown.
Matthew Harrington, president of Edelman’s Eastern Region office, confirmed with Mixed Use that the company singed a lease to take over five floors at 250 Hudson St., between Dominick and Broome Sts., in a relocation from its offices at 1500 Broadway in Times Square. About 400 employees will make the move, which he said would occur sometime in mid-2009.
“We’re really excited about the building and the neighborhood, and think that the neighborhood has good access in terms of the transportation hubs, but also from the work-life balance perspective for a lot of our staff,” Harrington stated.
Ken Meyerson, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis, handled the deal, which will amount to 127,000 square feet in the top floors of the 15-story building owned by Jack Resnick & Sons.
Meyerson said that after searching in Midtown, Midtown South and Lower Manhattan, Edelman settled on a price in the low $50-per-square-foot range for 250 Hudson St.
Pearl St. connection Companies have yet another reason to head Downtown for office space with the announcement Tuesday of a $172.5-million sale of 29 floors at 375 Pearl St.
The deal, struck through a joint venture between Taconic Investment Partners and Square Mile Capital, accounts for 1.05 million square feet of space at the 32-story office building owned by telecom giant Verizon Communications.
The companies plan to extensively redevelop the space for use by multiple tenants, including a new facade, lobby, ventilation system, bathrooms and up to six new elevators.
The sale gives Taconic and Square Mile ownership of 29 floors, while Verizon will retain a condominium interest of three floors.
The building is located near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge not far from City Hall, and boasts 360-degree views of the city. Notable architectural firm Cook + Fox, which has a reputation for green design, will handle structural renovations.
With the deal, Mixed Use wonders whether the massive Verizon logo affixed to the top of the building will come down, making for a less corporately sponsored skyline in Lower Manhattan.
Media roundup Street benches on the Lower East Side are apparently keeping pace with some new development in the area: appearing out of place and rising above most residents’ means.
The online publication Gothamist points to an odd piece of work at E. Houston and Suffolk Sts., where a bench sat on stanchions many feet off the ground before eventually being removed. The Web site speculated that it could have been a piece of guerilla artwork, while one commenter ruminated thusly: “Look at all those chain retailers who pay sky high commercial rents behind this out of reach bench, and I don’t think you’ll have to think much harder about its meaning.”
Farther south at 328 Grand St., Curbed.com finds plans to develop a seven-story hotel with 10 guest rooms between Orchard and Ludlow Sts. The area, coined BelDel (for Below Delancey) by the Web site, is located just a few blocks from some of the Lower East Side’s public housing complexes, but Mixed Use thinks guests will more than likely find themselves in the nightlife oasis located north of BelDel (in NoBelDel?).
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On Sunday, The New York Times led off an article in its City section regarding development on the Bowery with a description of tenant activist David Mulkins, who appeared in a photo in The Villager weeks ago. The article went on to describe a recent protest as it relates to the larger issue of the Bowery’s exclusion from current rezoning efforts in the East Village and Lower East Side. However, the story fails to mention that activist Rob Hollander helped draw attention to the issue by gathering 100 local signatures in an open letter to the city.
mixeduse@communitymediallc.com
