ICSC to Move HQ to 1251 Avenue of the Americas

NEW YORK CITY—The International Council of Shopping Centers will soon have a new global headquarters—just down the street from its current operations in Midtown Manhattan.

The ICSC has signed a full-floor lease for its global headquarters totaling 44,100 square feet at Mitsui Fudosan America’s 1251 Avenue of the Americas. The council will relocate from its current global headquarters space at 1221 Avenue of the Americas by mid to late 2019 and take occupancy of the full 45th floor of the 54-story office tower on the corner of 50th Street. The term of the new lease is 16 years.

The ICSC currently occupies approximately 50,000 square feet at the Rockefeller Group’s 1251 Avenue of the Americas building, according to a report in the Commercial Observer.

“Midtown has been ICSC’s home for over 20 years, and we look forward to being able to stay in the neighborhood,” says  Tom McGee, president and CEO of ICSC. “The building is conveniently located and will provide a dynamic environment for our members when they visit.”

JLL’s Chris Kraus and Daoud Awad represented ICSC in the lease. Newmark Knight Frank’s David Falk, Peter Shimkin, Eric Cagner and Nick Berger represented MFA in the transaction.

John Westerfield, CEO of Mitsui Fudosan America, says that a redesign of the lobby and upgrade of the elevator system, as well as the addition of several new restaurants, are scheduled for 2019.

“This substantial capital investment is further evidence of Mitsui Fudosan’s commitment to maintaining 1251 as one of the finest office buildings in New York City. Our recent success in leasing multiple full floors at 1251 further demonstrates the attractiveness of The Avenue of Americas to premier business organizations like ICSC. Sixth Avenue remains one of the great places to work in midtown Manhattan.”

MFA says it is seeking best-in-class tenants for floors 35 through 38, which will be available in 2020, and is the first contiguous block offered in the building since 2010. The cumulative square footage for that available space is 173,000 square feet.

Since its inception, MFA has acquired, owned or developed numerous office, multifamily and hospitality properties in major markets throughout the U.S. including: 1251 Avenue of the Americas, 55 Hudson Yards, 160 Madison, 527 Madison, and 525 West 52nd in Manhattan; Waterfront Corporate Center III in Hoboken, NJ; The Homer Building and 1200 17th in Washington DC.; 270 Brannan, 650 Indiana and 22 Texas in San Francisco; 2nd & Pike in Seattle; and the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki, HI.