A new law firm started by six former attorneys from the aviation and space practice at Mendes & Mount LLP has signed on for a full floor at 12 E. 49th St., owned by Kato International and also known as Tower 49. Known as Fitzpatrick & Hunt, Tucker, Collier, Pagano, Aubert, LLP, the litigation firm has committed to the 16,000-square-foot 31st floor at Tower 49 for 15 years. Lease terms were not disclosed. Studley’s Holzman and Revson represented Fitzpatrick & Hunt. “This deal had many moving parts,” Holzman says in a release. “The space was occupied by Broadpoint Gleacher, which was in the middle of consolidating its New York offices into space at 1290 Ave. of the Americas. We worked with the landlord’s agent, Robert Bakst of Colliers International, to structure a deal that included a lease termination for Broadpoint and a long-term lease for Fitzpatrick & Hunt.” Studley’s Los Angeles office arranged a similar-sized deal for the law firm on the West Coast.

In an apparent demonstration of the old maxim about never underestimating the power of a pretty face, Rockrose Development Corp. has dropped plans to seek a full-building tenant for its 175,180-square-foot office building at 300 Park Ave. South after longtime tenant Wilhelmina Models opted to renew in place rather than relocate. The modeling agency is keeping is 12,671-square-foot headquarters space on the 15-story tower’s second floor. The property, which was once considered for repositioning as a hotel, is undergoing an upgrade; a separate lobby would allow a multi-floor tenant to have its own private entranceway. Andrew Peretz and John Peters of Cushman & Wakefield, exclusive leasing agent for 300 Park South, represented Rockrose in the long-term Wilhelmina transaction. Asking rents are in the low $40s per square foot.

Silverstone Property Group has acquired a five-story, 7,425-square-foot apartment building at 166 Suffolk St. for $2.55 million, or roughly $340 per square foot. The off-market purchase from a private seller traded at a 6.9% cap rate, providing Silverstone an upside in rents as well as additional build-out space.

A 5,686-square-foot retail condominium at 8 W. 19th St. has sold for $2.675 million. A team from Robert K. Futterman & Associattes, including Brian Segall, David Alani and Jonathan Butwin represented both seller Bennco Properties and buyer 8 West 19 Retail LLC. The single-tenant retail condo is occupied by Food Works.

Eastern Consolidated has been hired to sell the $13-million senior secured interest in 1711 and 1713 First Ave. and 354 E. 89th St., three residential buildings with retail and 50 feet of frontage on First Avenue between East 88th and 89th streets and 20 feet of frontage on East 89th. There is no junior debt in place. The lender recently began foreclosure proceedings, according to a release from Eastern Consolidated, whose David Schechtman, Peter Hauspurg and Marion Jones Pavone are marketing the note.

Ripco Real Estate has been named the exclusive broker for the 52,160-rentable-square-foot, full-block, multi-level retail space at Heritage Realty Services’ 420 Fifth Ave. The leasing team for Ripco Real Estate will be Peter Ripka, Andrew Mandell, and Richard Skulnik. The block of space is adjacent to Lord & Taylor’s flagship location and within three blocks of the Empire State Building.

Westchester County

Urstadt Biddle Properties has finalized the purchase of a 9.9667% interest in the limited partnership that owns Midway Shopping Center at 999 Central Park Ave. in Scarsdale, NY. The purchase price is approximately $6 million, and UBP made an additional investment in the 247,000-square-foot Midway in the form of an unsecured $11.6-million loan to the partnership, which was used to repay a second mortgage and unsecured debt. The loan matures in January 2013. As part of the transaction, UBP became the exclusive managing and leasing agent for both Midway and an adjacent 60,000-square-foot shopping center owned by some of the Midway partners.

New Jersey

Data security firm Bsafe Information Systems has picked up 1,500 square feet at 25 E. Salem St. in Hackensack, NJ. NAI Hanson’s Steven Leitner and Michael Walters represented the landlord, East Salem 2001, LLC, while the company’s Anthony Cassano repped the tenant. Bsafe is now occupying the fourth floor of 25 E. Salem, after upgrading and expanding from its previous space in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. The freestanding office building is now 99% leased.

Massachusettts

Crossbeam Systems, Inc. is remaining in its headquarters digs at 80 Central St. in Boxborough, MA. The technology company focuses on “next-generation security platforms for high-performance networks,” according to Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, which brokered the deal. RBJ repped KBS Realty Advisors in the 51,000-square-foot renewal. The property is one of a pair of buildings which comprises Tech Central Boxborough along with 90 Central St. Crossbeam Systems will reside on the first and second floor of 80 Central. FHO Partners repped Crossbeam in the transaction. RBJ and FHO did not return GlobeSt.com inquiries by deadline regarding the terms of the renewal, but Jones Lang LaSalle indicates office space in the 495 North submarket is averaging $17.59 per square foot for comparable space in 1Q10. The corporate HQ of Crossbeam Systems, 80 Central is 149,528 square feet, with only 8,000 square feet still vacant, according to RBJ. The property boasts a three-story atrium, a 125-seat cafeteria and a fitness room. Much of the renovation of the property, which took place in 1995, was performed by previous tenant 3Com Corp.

Additional reporting by Alyson Grala and Ryan Clark.