Pernod Ricard officials say the company has leased 31,447 sf on the third floor of 777 Westchester Ave. and another 17,000 sf of space on the fourth floor. In addition, Sandrine Ricard, public relations manager for Pernod Ricard USA, says that the company is in lease discussions with building owner EastRidge Properties for the remainder of the fourth floor, an additional 16,000 sf. If the two parties can reach an agreement, the total size of the Pernod Ricard corporate headquarters would be approximately 64,447 sf.
The company, formerly known as Austin Nichols & Company, announced last June that it had leased approximately 31,447 sf of space at the Westchester Avenue property. While the space was being prepared for occupancy, the firm was housed in 21,741 sf of temporary space at 105 Corporate Park Drive in Harrison, another EastRidge Properties' building.
Ellen Lynch, senior vice president and managing director of EastRidge Properties, confirms the lease signings and that talks are ongoing on the additional space at the five-story, 128,000-sf building that was the former home of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
"We are hoping we can come to an agreement on that space as well," Lynch says. The transaction involving the 17,000 sf of space on the fourth floor was concluded in December, Lynch adds. Mark S. Weiss of Julien J. Studley Inc., represented the tenant in the lease transactions. The space Pernod Ricard USA is occupying, formerly housed Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which moved its corporate headquarters to the Nine West complex down the street on Westchester Avenue.
The company was renamed Pernod Ricard USA in December 2001, shortly after the closing of its purchase of the Seagram's wines and spirits business, which includes Chivas Regal, Seagram's Extra Dry gin, Martell Cognac and other brands. The deal involved the three-fold expansion of its portfolio of premier brands and a doubling of the size of its staff.
The firm, which originally planed to house 80 employees at its White Plains offices, will now have 180 workers there once it relocates the last of its New York City workforce. The company had operated out of offices on 46th St., and has offices at 733 Third Ave. Employees working out of that office are expected to move to White Plains in February, Ricard says.
"The new corporate headquarters of Pernod Ricard USA allow us to accommodate our new management team and to expand as necessary to handle the dynamic growth of our traditional brands and the new brands that we have acquired as a result of the Seagram acquisition," said Michel Bord, president and chief executive officer of Pernod Ricard USA.
Pernod Ricard USA has four other offices in the United States. The company produces Wild Turkey Bourbon at the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY. Seagram's Gin is produced at Seagram Lawrenceburg Distillery in Lawrenceburg, IN.
Pernod Ricard USA is a subsidiary of the world's third largest spirits and wine company, Paris-based Pernod Ricard. In addition to the acquired Seagram's brands, the company produces Wild Turkey Bourbon and imports such popular brands as Jameson and Bushmills Irish whiskeys, Jacob's Creek and Wyndham Estate wines and a host of other brands.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
