Law Firm Set to Relocate to the 40-Story 850,000 SF Office Tower in Q3 2017
The William Kaufman Organization (WKO)announced today that it has signed a 15-year lease with prominent national law firm Wiggin and Dana LLP for 15,616 square feet of office space on a portion of the 35th floor at 437 Madison Avenue, an 850,000-square-foot building that recently received a $60 million renovation and transformation in Midtown East.
The law firm, which is presently located at 450 Lexington Avenue, expects to move into its new facilities by the third quarter of 2017.The striking 40-story office tower, which occupies the entire blockfront between 49th and 50thStreets, is owned by WKO in partnership with the Travelers Companies, Inc.
Founded in 1934 , Wiggin and Dana LLP boasts over 135 attorneys in seven offices throughout the country.Its New York office focuses on a broad range of legal services, including corporate, labor and employment, health care, real estate, private client services, and litigation, including white collar defense.
Paul Hughes, Wiggin and Dana’s Managing Partner, stated “Firm management scoured midtown for a newly revitalized space to accommodate the firm’s NYC growth plans. Andrew Pal, Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Department, recommended 437 Madison over other options to allow the firm to modernize its footprint, including improved space for hosting client events, seminars and board meetings.”
Michael Lenchner, Vice President and Director of Leasing at Sage Realty Corporation, the leasing and management division of WKO, represented the building’s ownership in-house in the transaction, along with a Jones Lang LaSalle leasing team of Frank Doyle, David Kleiner, Cynthia Wasserberger, Hayley Shoener and Harlan Webster. Michael Goldman, Matthew Barlow and Daniel Posy of Savills Studley represented the tenant. Asking rents in the building range from $80 to $110 per rentable square foot.
Continuing its successful campaign, the new lease for Wiggin and Dana LLP follows an impressive surge of leasing activity at the building. In another recently completed transaction at 437 Madison Avenue, longtime tenant Kenner & Company, has signed a renewal for 5,639 square feet of space on a portion of the 36th floor at the property. In addition, Vertical Capital LLC plans to relocate to a new, 3,592 square-foot space within the building. Scott M. Bloom of Bloom Real Estate Group represented the tenant, while Mr. Lenchner represented ownership in-house in both transactions.
“Kenner & Company has been at 437 Madison since our inception in 1986,” said Jeffrey Kenner, president of Kenner & Company.“We appreciate the convenience of the location and appropriate size of the building.The recent upgrade and renovation of the property is attractive.”
Overall, Sage Realty has completed more than 43,000 square feet of new deals at 437 Madison Avenue over the last several weeks, highlighted by leases for Darktrace Limited, HT Capital Advisors, Harbor Spring Capital LLC and Ospraie Management LLC.
“We’re certainly one of the hottest buildings on Madison Avenue right now,” stated Mr. Lenchner. “This new transaction for Wiggin and Dana LLP highlights the special position that our property is in and reflects the ongoing resurgence of the Madison Avenue corridor.”
Wiggin and Dana LLP will also soon benefit from 437 Madison Avenue’s multi-million capital improvement program. Now finalized, the building boasts entirely new infrastructure and amenities, including a private 8,870 square-foot 15th floor “sky lounge” with skyline views. In addition, the property’s redesigned lobby and arcade area, new plaza, renovated elevators, upgraded building systems and backup generator and rejuvenated façade were completed earlier in the year.
437 Madison Avenue also features elegant pre-built spaces located on the 19th, 32nd and 34th floors, ranging in size from 2,893 rentable square feet to 6,402 rentable square feet. The units, which are currently under construction, feature new state-of-the-art reception areas with stone floors and sheet rock ceilings, private glass-walled offices, high-end pantries, new corridors and new restrooms, broadband internet connectivity, flexible floorplates and spectacular views of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Midtown skyline.
Originally built in 1967 and designed in the Modernist style by the renowned architectural firm Emery Roth & Sons, 437 Madison Avenue is long regarded as a premier property in the Midtown East office marketplace. The building is currently home to a prestigious tenant roster including Omnicom Group Inc., Medallion Financial Corp. and Kekst and Company and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
For more information about 437 Madison Avenue, please visit the Sage Realty website at http://www.sagerealty.com/.
About the William Kaufman Organization
The William Kaufman Organization, a multigenerational real estate company founded by its namesake in 1924 and now led by Jonathan Kaufman Iger, has developed and repositioned over six million square feet of real estate in New York City. The current portfolio consists of 6 class A commercial office buildings, totaling over three million rentable square feet, along with additional real estate assets. For more information, visit http://www.sagerealty.com/
