RFR Holding will reposition 1328 Broadway

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 2, 2000

Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, principals of RFR Holding LLC, have taken control of the former Marbridge Building, a 12-story office and retail property at 1328 Broadway on 34th Street in Manhattan.

The value of the purchase was approximately $90 million from a partnership which include Irving Schneider's Investment Properties Associates, as well as two other families. One of the families in the partnership, the Goelets, will remain in the new venture with RFR.

"Centrally located in a thriving submarket that attracts an abundance of both retail and office space users, 1328 Broadway holds tremendous potential for us to capitalize on the current strength of both markets," said Rosen.

RFR plans to reposition 1328 Broadway, creating additional retail space for world-class retailers and upgrading and restructuring the office floors of the building for full floor tenants. RFR will immediately begin a complete rehabilitation of the property that will include the replacement of all of the building's mechanical and electrical systems, as well as other upgrades.

HMV music store currently leases approximately 25,000 square feet of space on the ground floor and a portion of the second floor for one of its highest grossing retail locations. RFR is in the final stages of negotiation with a multi-billion-dollar high-end European, clothing designer for roughly 70,000 square feet, representing the balance of retail space on the ground and second floors and the entire third floor.

"In addition to our strategy for three floors of retail, we have significant plans for the office portion of the building," explained Rosen. "Given the extreme shortage of quality office space throughout Manhattan, we now have the rare opportunity to offer a contiguous block of up to 200,000 square feet of modern space in a prime Midtown South location. Since the building has two separate lobby entrances with different elevator banks and unusually large floorplates compared to other properties in the neighborhood, there is also the potential for several mid-size tenants to lease full floors of 27,000 square feet and easily create a prominent presence in the building."

"Traditionally, the office floors of 1328 Broadway were leased in small parcels of under 1,000 square feet," said Jason Brown. COO at RFR. "We will immediately begin consolidating the building's existing tenants onto one or two multi-tenanted floors and start a floor by floor renovation of all building systems. We think the design of the building lends itself well to full floor tenants because there are windows on three sides, supplying courtyard views and significant natural light. Our goal is to create a modern, technologically equipped office environment that would appeal to dot-com firms, as well as fashion designers looking to house their headquarters in the heart of Manhattan's Herald Square."

The property will be managed by RFR Realty LLC, a full-service leasing and management company run by RFR Holding. Mark Granata, president of RFR Realty, will implement the repositioning plans for the property, while Richard Farley, senior vice president/director of leasing, will handle the leasing of the building.