Eleven Times Square, the recently completed 1.1-million-square-foot office and retail tower in Midtown, has been granted LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, developer SJP Properties announced today. The building, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street, incorporates the latest green technology in its design, including an advanced air filtration and ventilation system, as well as a glass curtain wall exterior that reduces heat gain and allows in natural light. “Our original vision for 11 Times Square was to create a commercial building that would effectively raise the bar for sustainable construction and design…” said Steven Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties. TRD [more]

A veteran New Jersey real estate attorney and father of SJP Properties’ Jeffrey Schotz has died. The cause of Edward Schotz’s death was mesothelioma, a form of cancer, Jeffrey told New Jersey’s the Record.

Edward joined Cole Schotz law firm in 1982 as a result of a merger, and worked there until March, when his health declined, Jeffrey said. Edward was reportedly proud of his work in the 1980s bringing into existence the Glenpointe development, a 650,000-square-foot mixed-use complex in Teaneck, NJ. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; son, Jeffrey; daughter, Alison; and five grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at Barnert Temple, at 747 Route 208 South in Franklin Lakes, NJ. [NorthJersey.com]

From the December issue: It’s the home of major media companies such as Viacom, the New York Times, Condé Nast, Reuters, Bertelsmann and Universal Music Group; broadcast studios for ABC, MTV, NASDAQ and others; headquarters of Morgan Stanley and law firms such as Proskauer Rose, Skadden Arps and Cravath Swaine & Moore. One-quarter of all hotels in Manhattan are there, along with Broadway theaters and some of the best retail in the world. And, oh, tens of millions of visitors annually come by.

So before the world’s eyes turn to Times Square for New Year’s Eve, it seemed like a good time to consider the state of the office market in the city’s most famous district. After all, some 200,000 people work in Times Square, 70 percent of them in finance and creative fields.

Let’s use the Times Square Alliance’s borders for the district: 40th Street to 53rd Street between Sixth and Eighth avenues, as well as Restaurant Row (46th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues). [more]

From left, Pras Michel, SJP CEO Steven Pozycki and 247 West 46th Street (building photo: CityRealty)

Hip-hopper Pras Michel, of the Fugees fame, wants out of his $2.46 million contract at the Platinum condominium in Midtown West. The rapper, who bought the two-bedroom unit at 247 West 46th Street with the intention of flipping it, told the Post that he was promised 12-foot ceilings but wound up with nine-foot ceilings. “Obviously, the value changes dramatically,” he said. Pras is suing SJP Residential Properties, which says the suit has no merit, for the return of his $369,000 deposit. [Post, 5th item]

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From left, Pras Michel, SJP CEO Steven Pozycki and 247 West 46th Street (building photo: CityRealty)

Hip-hopper Pras Michel, of the Fugees fame, wants out of his $2.46 million contract at the Platinum condominium in Midtown West. The rapper, who bought the two-bedroom unit at 247 West 46th Street with the intention of flipping it, told the Post that he was promised 12-foot ceilings but wound up with nine-foot ceilings. “Obviously, the value changes dramatically,” he said. Pras is suing SJP Residential Properties, which says the suit has no merit, for the return of his $369,000 deposit. [Post, 5th item]

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Developer SJP Properties has reason to celebrate, according to the New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo, after law firm Proskauer Rose signed a 406,000-square-foot lease at 11 Times Square yesterday. In a reversal of fortune, the 1.1-million-square-foot office tower, which is still under construction and had been entirely unleased as of October last year, is now almost 40 percent occupied, according to Steven Pozycki, CEO of SJP. “We assumed we’d have a third of the building leased by the time the shell was completed,” Pozycki said. “Instead, we have nearly 40 percent. This investment is going to be a gold mind.” Proskauer Rose’s rent is in the high $70s per square foot, sources say. Both tenant and landlord were represented by CB Richard Ellis. [Post, 1st item]

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New Manhattan office leasing volume in the first quarter reached its highest level in four years but the total vacancy rate continued to climb with the addition of new available space to the market, commercial firm Cushman & Wakefield reported in a first-quarter briefing this morning.

There was 5.6 million square feet in new leases, which excludes renewals, in the first quarter of 2010, nearly doubling the 3.1 million square feet from the same period in 2009 and the best quarter since 5.9 million square feet was taken in the first three months of 2006, Cushman reported.

With the addition of new space at 11 Times Square in Midtown and 85 Broad Street Downtown, the overall vacancy rate went up. The vacancy rate for Class A buildings in Midtown’s Times Square South submarket shot up to 27 percent last quarter from 14 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 because of the addition of SJP Properties’s 1.1 million-square-foot 11 Times Square. [more]

From the March issue: Although they may be just beguiling mirages that will fade upon approach, there are some submarkets where asking rents have jumped in the past months, a trend that runs counter to the dour predictions from Manhattan leasing brokers that taking rents won’t rise for more than a year.

In the Meatpacking District, for example, Charles Blaichman’s CB Developers High Line building that remains under construction at 450 West 14th Street has asking rents above $100 per square foot. The space was added to the availability list in January, driving up average rates in the district, the most recent figures from commercial firm Jones Lang LaSalle show.

And in the Union Square submarket, the average asking rent rose by 14 percent with the addition of space at 300 Park Avenue South, commercial firm CB Richard Ellis’ latest report said.
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SJP Properties’ 11 Times Square is close to a deal that would bring a seven-story aquarium to the lower floors of the empty tower, the Wall Street Journal reported. Toronto developer Jerry Shefsky is in negotiations that could allow him to start building out the space — a project that would cost an estimated $100 million — as soon as April, in order to debut the aquarium in September 2011. SJP broke ground on the 40-story tower in 2007. The property is scheduled to be completed in the next few months with office rents having dropped off 20 percent in the last year, according to Reis. The 11 Times Square aquarium would be unique as far as aquariums go, with far fewer fish than most and only 600,000 gallons of water, compared to the eight million gallons contained in Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005. Half the space would be comprised of water exhibits, while a pirate museum and educational displays would adorn the rest, said Shefsky, who is head of Aquarium Developments Corp. Shefsky said a rendering of the aquarium was not yet available and that financial backers, who he declined to name, have been secured for the project. Law firm Proskauer Rose is also reportedly in negotiations for a 400,000-square-foot lease in the building.

After a dismal year for New Jersey’s office market, some analysts say that rents have fallen far enough to stimulate some leasing activity. Whether that will continue into a full-fledged recovery in 2010, however, is a more elusive question. The year will likely end with a “flicker of an uptick,” according to Craig Eisenhardt, a CB Richard Ellis leasing specialist. That flicker, he said, translates to a 21.5 percent office vacancy rate, down slightly from its 22 percent rate in the third quarter. Jones Lang LaSalle has predicted that the fourth quarter will boast 150,000 square feet more occupied office space than the third quarter. Though that’s a small number relative to the New Jersey market as a whole, “it is still the first time the vacancy rate has declined in seven quarters,” said Daniel Loughlin, managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle. “The good news is we’re not out of gas,” said Steven Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties, which developed the Waterfront Corporate Center in Hoboken. “The bad news is that it’s only less bad than it was.” [NYT]