Healthcare company leases 44,082 s/f for new HQ

Real Estate Weekly, April 2, 2008

Cushman & Wakefield announced that APS Healthcare Inc. (APS) signed a long-term lease for 44,082 s/f at Westchester One, an 852,000 s/f building located at 44 South Broadway in downtown White Plains. The privately held specialty healthcare company will locate its new corporate headquarters here later this summer.

Founded in 1992, APS and its 1,300 employees provide a wide range of specialty healthcare solutions to more than 20 million members across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

"We are very excited about the move," said Jerry Vaccaro, MD, president and COO of APS. "After an extensive site-selection process, our management team felt that Westchester One would provide the best facility for our rapidly growing organization."

Cushman & Wakefield represented both the tenant and landlord in the transaction negotiations. Mark Silver, senior director, Rick Donohue, executive director, and Gary Glatter, associate, represented APS. Josh Kuriloff, vice chairman, and Gregory V. Frisoli, senior director, represented Westchester One's owner, an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners, LLC.

"Westchester One was a great fit for APS Healthcare," said Mr. Silver. "The building's large floor plates can accommodate the firm on a single floor, and the property is a well-run building with a substantive image and a full amenity package. APS achieved all of this at a lower cost per square foot than its former lease."

Cushman & Wakefield has led an aggressive marketing campaign to lease the building for headquarters or multi-tenant occupancy. Since the leasing effort began, more than 240,000 s/f have been leased. There is currently more than 300,000 s/f of built and furnished space available.

"Westchester One's downtown location combined with its superb amenity package and new property renovations, offered APS Healthcare the best match of available options in the market," said Mr. Kuriloff. "Westchester One was also an ideal alternative to New York City, providing lower cost space without compromising workplace amenities and commute advantages."

"White Plains has become an extremely viable relocation alternative because of the excellent transportation infrastructure, easy access to area airports and local highways, the highly educated labor pool and the evolution of the city itself into a burgeoning urban environment," said Frisoli.

"Leasing momentum at Westchester One is active and we are in talks with a number of tenants from varying industries with large space requirements."

Beacon Capital recently completed a $13 million dollar capital-improvement program to Westchester One, which included renovations to the lobby, restrooms, cafeteria, elevator cabs, walkways, exterior landscape beautification, and building improvements, such as a new roof, cooling towers and a supplemental cooling system.

Shuttle service to the White Plains Metro North train station was introduced and enhanced security features throughout the building and the parking garages are in place. APS joins a roster of prestigious tenants at Westchester One, including Disney Publishing, Loews, and Cravath, Swaine and Moore.

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