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RXR Signs 99-Year Triple-Net Lease for 75 Rockefeller Plaza; Promises Green Redevelopment

NEW YORK CITY—RXR Realty has signed a 99-year, triple-net lease at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. The 33-story iconic office building, a New York City landmark, is located in Rockefeller Center in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.

Originally named the Esso Building, the 33-story 75 Rockefeller Plaza was constructed in 1947 and stands at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza, bookending a classic corridor that includes 30 Rock, the International Building, the Shopping Concourse, and skating rink. Home to the annual Christmas Tree lighting, Rockefeller Center is a globally recognized address in the highest-performing office market in New York City.

The building’s ownership, 75 Plaza LLC, was represented in the transaction by a collaborative Cushman & Wakefield team that included Bruce Mosler, chairman of global brokerage; Michael Rotchford, executive vice president and head of corporate finance and investment banking; Louis Wolfowitz, executive director, corporate finance and investment banking; and Helen Hwang, executive vice president, investment sales. The team also included Arthur Mirante, principal and Tri-state president of Avison Young and former president of global client development at Cushman & Wakefield. Shearman & Sterling LLP, a leading international law firm, provided legal advice to ownership.

Since 1993, 75 Rockefeller Plaza has been net leased by Time Warner Corporation. Ownership initially retained C&W as exclusive leasing agent to re-lease the building when TWC’s lease expires in 2014.

“We immediately recognized the historic importance of this building and the value of its location,” Mosler said in a statement. “After examining the marketplace, we recommended to ownership that its highest value could be achieved by bringing in a high-quality operating partner.”

Mirante and Mosler brought C&W’s corporate finance and investment banking team into the assignment to structure a transaction that would provide ownership with a fixed rent and the opportunity to participate in the upside of the building.

“We knew how excited the marketplace would be with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Rotchford said in a statement. “We identified a group of New York City’s top real estate operators and ran a highly selective process. Choosing RXR resulted in a transaction that is highly attractive to both 75 Plaza LLC and RXR and provides for an alignment of their interests.”

RXR Realty, a leading New York real estate operating company, expects to fully renovate and re-brand this irreplaceable building. When completed, the renovated building, with its landmarked classic limestone façade and a fully modernized interior, will feature approximately 630,000 rentable sq. ft. and be tantamount to the first delivery of new construction in Rockefeller Center since 1947.

“We’re delighted that ownership entrusted us with this important assignment, which will bring a new, green, trophy office building to the heart of Midtown Manhattan,” Mirante said in a statement. “As one of New York City’s premier real estate operators, RXR Realty will bring strong development, leasing and management expertise to 75 Rockefeller Plaza and look forward to seeing the restoration of this landmark Manhattan office building.”

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