MovieFone is first tenant at former General Foods site

Real Estate Weekly, March 10, 1999

When developer Charles Steven Cohen, president and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, purchased the former Kraft Foods headquarters complex in White Plains, NY last year, he not only vowed to turn the 600,000 square-foot Westchester office campus into an elite multi-tenant corporate center, but to attract tenants from the entire metropolitan marketplace, including high-priced Manhattan.

Cohen kept his word. He has announced that the first deal signed at the revitalized office complex, now known as 333 Westchester Avenue, is with MovieFone, Inc., the media company recently purchased by America Online, Inc. The company has leased over 31,000 square feet, comprising over a third of the South Building, for a number of its operations. Presently based in Manhattan, MovieFone will retain its present offices at 335 Madison Avenue.

Steven Sunderland of IGD, Inc., represented MovieFone in the 12-year leasing transaction valued at over $8 million. Cohen Brothers was represented by Bruce Mosler, Mitchell Konsker, Maureen O'Boyle, Greg Frigoli and Mark Mandel of Cushman & Wakefield, the property's leasing agent, and its vice president, Palmer "Chip" Sealy.

"We're delighted that such a prominent, cutting-edge media company has chosen to headquarter and grow its business in our complex. It says a lot about the viability and future of 333 Westchester Avenue as one of this County's premier multi-tenant corporate centers," asserted Cohen, who said he was presently in discussions with several other prospective tenants about relocating to his development.

Anchored by four inter-connected mid-rise office buildings on a sprawling 39-acre site distinguished by landscaped gardens and courtyards, 333 Westchester Avenue has been completely repositioned and designed for multi-tenancies. It features unusually large contiguous blocks of space, ideal for tenants seeking 50,000 square feet or more. At the same time, tenants with requirements starting at just 2,500 square feet will be able to custom design their own space.

Under an exciting design plan developed by legendary architect Philip Johnson, 333 Westchester Avenue is presently being enhanced with new lobby treatments, as well as new colored elliptical outdoor entrance monuments designed to provide distinctive identities for each of the development's buildings. Special on-site amenities at the complex include a newly-renovated free-standing fitness center, extensive parking, and a lavish, 20,000 square-foot dining and cafeteria facility.

Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, which owns and manages over eight million square feet of prime Manhattan commercial space, has been active for over 40-year in real estate investment, ownership, management and development.