AP Signs $170M HQ Lease

NEW YORK CITY–In one of the largest lease deals of the year, The Associated Press, which has been headquartered at Rockefeller Center for 65 years, has found a new place to call home. The world’s largest news organization finalized plans to lease 290,773 sf at 450 West 33rd St. The news organization signed a 15-year lease for floors 14 through 16, as well as mezzanine and basement space in the building for $170 million, building owner, Max Capital CEO Adam Hochfelder tells GlobeSt.com. “This lease took nine months to negotiate,” he adds.

Mitchell Konsker, executive vice president, and David Dusek, director, of global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, represented The Associated Press along with AP’s assistant to the president Dave Tomlin. The deal has a complicated back story. It was an intricate three-party transaction with simultaneous negotiations going on throughout the process. The space’s previous tenant, DoubleClick, represented by Paul Ippolito and Michael Ippolito of Newmark & Co., negotiated a lease termination with the landlord, Max Capital Management. Max Capital was represented in-house by Anthony Westreich, along with Peter Riguardi and Cynthia Wasserberg of Jones Lang LaSalle.

The move represents an expansion and consolidation for AP, which plans to move from offices at 45 and 50 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center, and 1995 Broadway, where they currently occupy about 205,000 sf in the three buildings. In addition to bringing together as many as 900 employees, AP was able to provide its employees with amenities, such as outdoor terraces, athletic facilities, a health club, cafeteria and an open working environment.