Grubb & Ellis awarded 7 consulting jobs

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 25, 2002

Grubb & Ellis Company announced that it has recently been awarded seven major consulting programs that involve the valuation of office, hotel, retail and residential space and the land beneath several of those buildings.

"The soft national economy and '9/11' residue unique to New York City have caused a divergent trend: rental rates for residences and offices have declined, while ownership values for condominiums and cooperative apartments, office buildings and land have generally risen," said Bob VonAncken, a New York Office-based Grubb & Ellis executive managing director of consulting services. The client programs noted are:

* For the Economic Development Corporation of the City of New York, Grubb & Ellis is assisting in the contractual renegotiation of land values, and resultant rents, for the ten-building, six million-SF MetroTech Center in Brooklyn. Forest City Ratner Corp. owns the buildings but leases the land from the City. Grubb & Ellis findings are expected during December 2002.

* For The Carlyle New York, a notable hotel at 76th Street and Madison Avenue, Grubb & Ellis is helping to determine the fair market rental value of all 13 of its retail stores. The findings were presented in September 2002.

* For Levi Strauss & Company, Grubb & Ellis is assisting in the rent arbitration for its 6,000-SF store at 750 Lexington Ave., opposite Bloomingdale's. Grubb & Ellis findings are expected in December 2002.

Grubb & Ellis has handled many land-value determinations where the land is rented on a long-term net lease and the ground rent is to be re-determined based on the land value. In such situations, Grubb & Ellis has represented both property and building owners as arbitrator and expert witness. Current assignments include:

* 650 Fifth Ave., a 400,000-SF, 36-story office building, where Grubb & Ellis represents the building owner and findings are expected during October 2002.

* 600 Fifth Ave., a 450,000-SF, 29-story office building where Grubb & Ellis represents the landowner and findings were provided this past spring.

* 853 Seventh Ave., a 17,500-SF parcel occupied by a 12-story apartment building, where Grubb & Ellis represents the landowner and findings are expected this December.

* For the New York Palace Hotel, at Madison Avenue and 50th Street, Grubb & Ellis assisted in the rental re-determination based upon the value of the land beneath the hotel. Findings were presented in September. "These hearings can become quite complex," said Grubb & Ellis' VonAncken. "During our work for 650 Fifth Avenue, for example, we were presented with a technical issue involving the transfer of development rights across zoning boundaries. We discovered that the City's Building Department had issued a letter ruling covering this issue to the favor of our client, and then persevered through litigation that awarded increased value to our client," he said.