Ruben’s 600 Madison signs deal with Lennar unit

After closing a $210 million deal for the ground fee at 600 Madison Avenue earlier this month, the Ruben Companies has signed a subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar Corporation to 17,852 square feet at  The Plaza District building, The Real Deal has learned from CompStak. Rialto Capital Management, which is Lennar’s real estate investment arm focused on distressed and value-add properties, took the entire 12th floor of the 26-story, 327,960-square-foot tower located at the southwest corner of East 58th Street, according to CompStak data.

After six months of free rent, Rialto will pay rents starting in the high-$60s per square foot for a 10-year term, the CompStak data show. Rialto will be moving from its current space at Shorenstein Realty Services’ 850 Third Avenue in February, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Matt Polhemus, who handles leasing at that building along with colleagues Matthew Astrachan and Mitchell Konsker.

Representatives for Ruben Companies, headed by Richard Ruben, could not immediately be reached for comment. An employee at Rialto acknowledged the move, but deferred to senior executives who couldn’t immediately be reached for further comment. CBRE’s Evan Haskell, who handles leasing at 600 Madison Avenue along with Derrick Ades and Howard Fiddle, declined to comment on the deal. The other two brokers could not be reached.

Earlier this month, investors affiliated with Ruben Companies purchased the ground fee and claims for back rent at the building for $210 million from trustees of the Wallace estate, as The Real Deal reported. Ruben had held the long-term leasehold at the building since the 1970s.

Lennar was recently ranked South Florida’s top residential developer, with 1,267 closings in the region in the fiscal year ending March 2013.