The 55,000-sf space on the sixth floor of the labyrinthine eight-story building at 75 Ninth Ave. roughly doubles the television station's previous space at 460 W. 42nd St. The operation was moved over the weekend into the new space, which is a former HBO production facility that was used to tape the gritty prison drama "Oz."
Stewart Romanoff of Cushman & Wakefield represented NY1 in negotiating the 15-year lease directly with building owner Irwin Cohen's ATC Management. NY1 director of operations and engineering Jeffrey Polikoff served as project manager on the $30-million buildout of the space and the move from 42nd Street down to Chelsea.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed but according to Newmark & Co. executive managing director David A. Falk, asking rents at Chelsea Market "are in the low $40s and newer tenants are paying close to that." Newmark was awarded the leasing agency for the building after the NY1 deal was signed roughly.
Polikoff says he spent six months looking at spaces before settling on the 17 knocked-together buildings that make up Chelsea Market. "I was looking at a piece of property across the street," he tells GlobeSt.com. "When I saw this I said 'Wow, would I love to be here.'" Polikoff insists his main attraction to the facility was "they had the food downstairs," referring to the numerous eateries, fishmongers, butcher shops and bakeries--there's even a dairy--that occupy the ground floor. From a more practical standpoint, however, "they had the 30 ft high bay ceilings and no-column space for studios." In addition, Polikoff says, the deal gives NY1 roof access. The roof, which now supports six satellite dishes and a generator, will also be used as outdoor shooting space.
Located on the square block between 15th and 16th streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues, Chelsea market is the former home of Nabisco cookies and NY1's space is said to be where the first Oreo cookie was baked. The converted National Biscuit Co. building is now home to a hipper-than-thou mix of advertising and media firms including the Food Network, which leased 10,000 sf of ground floor space and 18,000 sf of basement space 18 months ago (The space has not yet been built out). Sterling Sound has a 25,000-sf studio and editing facility in the building. Oxygen Media and Major League baseball have production facilities there as well. Majorleaguebaseball.com is also housed in the former cookie factory.
The new NY1 newsroom incorporates digital technology that makes the facility virtually tapeless. While reporters will continue to shoot their stories on videotape, that material is then fed into servers back at the studio, making the production process available to the entire staff on desktop computers.
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