Related Companies CEO Stephen Ross and President Jeff Blau were on hand at the official announcement that Coach would occupy about 600,000 square feet at the first building the developer plans to construct in its Hudson Yards project on the West Side. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, as well as executives from bag maker Coach, were present at the event at 30th Street and 11th Avenue this morning. CBRE brokers Mary Ann Tighe and Greg Tosko, represented Coach in the transaction. – Adam Pincus [more]

From left: SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, 280 Park Avenue (building photo source: PropertyShark), and Vornado Chairman Steven Roth

Vornado Realty Trust and SL Green Realty are planning a $60 million to $100 million transformation of the office towers at 280 Park Avenue that the partnership acquired for almost $500 million in April, according to the New York Post.

The group has commissioned architects KPF to oversee facade modifications to the structure, comprised of a 31-story tower and a 48-story tower that are connected by a 17-story middle building near 49th Street, and a complete renovation of the tower’s base and plaza and lobby. [more]

Joe Moinian and 3 Columbus CircleJoseph Moinian’s 3 Columbus Circle is close to landing its first major tenant since undergoing a $100 million renovation, the New York Post reported. The Y&R division of ad company WPP Group, which also owns Ogilvy & Mather and Grey, among others, is reportedly in talks for 350,000 square feet in the building through CB Richard Ellis tri-state CEO Mary Ann Tighe.

It would mark a major milestone for Moinian, who had deals aligned last year with the WIlliam Morris Agency and HQ Global Workplaces for a total of 110,000 square feet, before the Related Companies moved to foreclose on the property. [more]

While The Real Deal wasn’t welcome at the Crain’s luncheon at 583 Park Avenue to honor the women on its recent list of the 50 most powerful women in New York City (a photographer was told no outside press permitted upon arrival), we managed to snap some photos as real estate pros entered and exited the event (see above). Brokering Conde Nast’s relocation to 1 World Trade Center earned Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York Tri-State Region of CB Richard Ellis, the top spot on this year’s list. Other honorees included Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, and Dottie Herman, CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman. – Lauren Elkies

From left: Mary Ann Tighe, CEO at CB Richard Ellis, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn

Earlier this year, Mary Ann Tighe, a CEO at CB Richard Ellis and chair of the Real Estate Board of New York, held a fundraising event for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at her home across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Capital reported. About 50 real estate executives paid $1,000 to rub shoulders with the establishment’s choice for 2013 mayor.Despite her earlier career as a “radical” on the far left of city
politics, first as a campaign manager for Council member Tom Duane and
then later a Council member herself, Quinn has emerged as the real
estate community’s favorite for mayor, besting Comptroller John Liu and
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, co-sponsors of a rent control bill that
has plagued the industry. Quinn, on the other hand, is a fan of rent regulation but seems more flexible on other issues, such as development. [more]

From left: Mary Ann Tighe, MaryAnne Gilmartin, Pamela Liebman and Dottie Herman

Brokering Conde Nast’s relocation to 1 World Trade Center earned CB Richard Ellis’ Mary Ann Tighe the top spot on this year’s Crain’s list of the 50 most powerful women in New York City. Tighe, who is also the first female to lead the Real Estate Board of New York, came in third on the list last year, but that was before the $2 billion Conde lease, which is widely considered a catalyst for the Financial District’s rebirth. Earlier this month, when Tighe became the first female recipient of the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Urban Leadership Award, James Kuhn, president of Newmark Knight Frank, said the lease “might turn out to be the biggest transformational deal in [his] lifetime.” More powerful New York females after the jump. [more]

For the first time in 41 years, a woman has been the recipient of the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Urban Leadership Award.
Mary Ann Tighe, head of CB Richard Ellis’ New York sales region and chair of the Real Estate Board of New York, was given the award at last night’s dinner at the Waldorf Astoria with around 700 real execs in attendance (see photos above).
Developer Larry Silverstein literally brought Tighe to tears as he talked about her career achievements and her family.

James Kuhn, president of Newmark Knight Frank, said “when they invited Tighe to be this year’s honoree he didn’t know about the transaction that [in his mind] might turn out to be the biggest transformational deal in his lifetime. That of course is the Conde Nast deal down at the World Trade Center.” Tighe represented Conde Nast in the transaction.

Tighe said that her success has been due in part because she has through the years chosen the “right clients, the right deals and the right partners.”
Michael Alfano, executive vice president at New York University, announced that the school would be building a university in Shanghai and be the first outside-degree granting institution in China. – Marc Becker

Tim Davis, Dolly Lenz, and 39 Cobb Hill Lane

What may be fairly obvious is that Tim Davis, with 28 listings, worth about $292 million, is one of the top brokers in the Hamptons.

Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty may have more listings in the wealthy beachside getaway, with 31, and for more expensive homes — a total of $378 million, with some prices not even disclosed. But Davis clearly is outmuscling agents like Peter Turino of Brown Harris Stevens, another major earner, whose 12 listings total $136 million.

Plus, the Corcoran Group’s Davis, a 30-year Hamptons real estate veteran, had a hand in last year’s biggest brokered deal: the $38.5 million sale of a colonial house on 15 acres to a group of buyers that included designer Tory Burch (the property was carved into three lots for the deal to happen).
[more]

The president and CEO of CB Richard Ellis’ New York tri-state region, Mitchell Rudin, is taking a high-level job at global developer and landlord Brookfield Office Properties, which owns the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, according to the two companies.

Brookfield hired Rudin to be president and CEO of U.S. commercial operations, replacing Dennis Friedrich, who was promoted to president and global chief investment officer for Brookfield. Friedrich replaced Brookfield’s CEO Ric Clark as company president, in the changes announced this morning. Clark remains as CEO.

Rudin was president and CEO at CBRE for seven years, and has been with the international brokerage firm for 21 years. He will start in his new position at the end of June.
[more]

“One World Trade Center is now New York’s first address for premier corporate office tenants,” Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Executive Director Chris Ward declared today as he took the stage on the 34th floor of the yet-to-be-finished Freedom Tower to announce Conde Nast’s signing for one million square feet in the building (see photos above). “Already the announcement has generated new interest in 1 World Trade, and let me tell you, the word is now out: See you Downtown.”

Symbolic as today’s signing might be of a transforming neighborhood, many in the real estate industry say the landscape has been changing for a while now. [more]