The IDA will provide benefits in excess of $562,000 in sales tax exemptions in connection with the renovation and equipping of 98,000 sf of space at 1133 Westchester Ave., according to the company's IDA filing. Sources close to the deal say that the lease, when finalized, will be in excess of 100,000 sf and will therefore result in the firm doubling its current global headquarters operations in Westchester.
An ITT spokesman, says the firm is pleased that the IDA decided to provide the incentives and confirmed that talks between the company and RPW Group are ongoing. "We are still very committed to the 1133 property but we are still working through some final details on the lease before we have something to announce," he says.
Salvatore Carrera, director of Westchester County's Office of Economic Development, says, "Pending final approval of the lease between the landlord, the tenant and other agencies, we view this as a win-win since; it is a retention and an expansion of a very prestigious company in Westchester County."
While observers had thought the lease would have been finalized by now, sources say the transaction could close before the end of this month. According to the company's filing with the IDA, the firm expects to add another 50 people to its headquarters office, bringing its workforce there to 161.
ITT expects the project's construction contracts will total $7.8 million, of which $4.6 million will be labor costs. ITT also intends to employ some energy efficient and green-building technologies.
As previously reported on GlobeSt.com, ITT had conducted a search of office properties in Westchester and Connecticut before focusing on the 1133 Westchester Ave. property. IDA paperwork notes the firm had also considered relocating its global headquarters to Colorado. ITT also has operations in New York State in: Rochester, Seneca Falls, Auburn and Cheektowaga and employs more than 3,700 in the Empire State.
In June, GlobeSt.com exclusively reported that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. had signed a new lease for an additional 50,000 sf of space at 1133 Westchester Ave. The hotelier now leases approximately 120,000 sf of space at the property. The firm maintains its corporate headquarters nearby at 1111 Westchester Ave.
Last year RPW Group acquired the property from IBM and announced that it would convert the former single-tenant building into a multi-use building. IBM occupies approximately 70,000 sf at the property.
RPW Group is also seeking approvals from the City of White Plains for a 150-room long-term stay hotel at the property. The firm also plans to build another 200,000-sf to 250,000-sf office building at the 75-acre campus sometime in the future.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
