Insignia/ESG Managing Director William Cuddy and JHR Advisors' John H. Rostenberg, who worked on behalf of Fortune Brands, negotiated it. Peter Hennessy, managing principal of The Staubach Company of New York City, represented Wit SoundView Group.
Wit SoundView, an investment-banking firm focused on the technology industry, will occupy a total of 79,079 square feet on a portion of the second, third and fourth floors of 1700 East Putnam Ave., Insignia/ESG officials say. The 204,521 sf building formerly housed the corporate headquarters of Fortune Brands Inc. until it relocated to the Chicago area in late 1999. The property, situated near the Greenwich Hyatt hotel, at one time housed the headquarters of Conde-Naste.
Staubach's Hennessy relates that Wit SoundView Group "is very constrained" at its current offices at 22 Gatehouse Rd. in Stamford where it now occupies approximately 33,000 sf. The company currently employs approximately 160 workers at its Stamford office.
Eventually, the firm hopes to grow its workforce at its new facility in Greenwich to between 250 to 300 employees in the next two years, Hennessy says. He adds that WitSoundView will shift an unspecified number of workers from its Manhattan headquarters space at 826 Broadway in conjunction with the move here.
Much of Wit SoundView's 1700 East Putnam Ave., space will be built-out as a significant trading operation, though its entire administrative function will also be housed there. The company plans to relocate to the property during the late summer or early fall of this year.
According to Insignia's Cuddy, Wit SoundView's deal "reinforces Stamford is one of the country's most desirable towns. Wit SoundView could have leased space at any number of properties, but it chose 1700 because of its location, amenities and Class A status."
The Wit SoundView lease is the second major lease transaction completed at 1700 East Putnam Ave., since Fortune Brands moved its headquarters almost a year and a half ago. Cuddy and Rostenberg arranged for the Tosco Corp. to relocate its headquarters to 34,000 sf at the building from 72 Cummings Point Rd. Approximately 72,000 sf of space remains available for sublease at 1700 East Putnam Ave., Insignia/ESG officials estimate. Greenwich Centre LP owns the property.
Cuddy relates that the economic slowdown has not affected the leasing interest at the former Fortune Brands space. "There are a number of people that are actively investigating the building. We've got a steady stream of inspections and proposals," he says.
When asked if the turbulence on Wall Street has dampened activity, Cuddy notes, "It's still Greenwich. No, there hasn't been any impact at all."
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
