Hidrock nears MCI completion

Real Estate Weekly, March 26, 2008

Only eight months after Hidrock Realty purchased the 12-story office building at 53 West 36th Street, the firm is near the completion of a $2 million capital improvement and tenant build-out project, according to Abraham J. Hidary, president of Hidrock, the building's landlord.

The renovations include a new lobby, a modernized elevator system with new cabs, a new roof and new windows. Hidrock also remodeled the common public corridors and bathrooms on multi-tenanted floors and completed build-outs for all full-floor tenants.

The new lobby comprises stone flooring, wood and frosted glass wall panels, as well as stainless steel front entrance doors with transoms that bring in more natural light. Thin vertical strip LED (light-emitting diode) lighting was installed under the wall panels, allowing light to shine through the frosted glass.

Other new amenities include tenant-controlled central air conditioning and a CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) security system, with a card system implemented for after-hour access into the building.

"Our goal in rehabilitating this side street building was to attract a new class of office tenants to Times Square South," said Hidary. "As a result, 11 new leases have been signed in the past seven months. Brokers and tenants have reacted very favorably to the building's transformation."

New tenants include China Construction Design International USA, Shine Media and WBTL Architects LLP.