Kaufman stands out from crowd

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 15, 2004

As the trend of staging catches fire in residential real estate, the Kaufman Organization has launched a similar concept for commercial leasing.

Partnering with Cort Furniture Rental, a Warren Buffet company, Kaufman has created on-site, fully furnished model office showrooms at its buildings, featuring desks, chairs and tables that are available to rent or buy.

The models allow potential tenants to visualize their businesses in the spaces available.

"Tenants, especially new businesses or expanding companies, appreciate that the set-up time is practically non-existent, as Cort can have the furniture delivered within 24 hours," said Kaufman leasing director Barbara Raskob.

"It also affords us the opportunity to show how the space can be laid out."

"The benefits to the tenants are boundless in that they have the option of renting a turn-key unit; what I think hasn't been considered before are the benefits to the management company," said Brooke Smith, of Cort Furniture Rental.

"Having a model in place can help a prospective tenant decide how to best utilize the floor plan, and also make smaller spaces more attractive."

"Locating our office in the Fashion Center was an easy choice," said Michael Weaver, chief executive of Fairchild Media LLC, who took 790 s/f at 450 Seventh Ave.

"Choosing our office was easy as well, because the furnishings made it stand out from the crowd and look more professional."