Paramount Group’s leasing director pushes landlord further

From left: 1633 Broadway, 712 Fifth Avenue (source: PropertyShark), 745 Fifth Avenue

Since taking over as leasing director at Paramount Group, one of the city’s largest office space landlords, in January, Ted Koltis has facilitated some smaller leases and helped leverage the iPad to the firm’s advantage. But the New York Observer said the transactions that could define his tenure are set to transpire over the coming months. Paramount bought out the remaining 49 percent of 1633 Broadway, previously held by Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, to gain full control of the 2.4 million-square-foot building at a $2 billion valuation. Now, their work in the building has just begun. It’s getting a renovated lobby, and needs a tenant to take 250,000 square feet of vacant space near the building’s base, which Koltis called the firm’s biggest “availability.” Paramount is also asking for $150 per square foot for vacancies at 712 Fifth Avenue, a staggering amount the Observer said. “We want to be the first phone call,” Koltis said, “when a broker wins a piece of business.” He added: “We’re very much open for business.” To that end, Koltis helped introduce a free iPad app with detailed layouts for all 12 million square feet of Paramount’s portfolio. That way, brokers can show prospective tenants previously unconsidered properties in an instant as he or she comes to understand the client’s needs better. Koltis said it was crucial to landing a tenant for office tower 745 Fifth Avenue in April. Since Koltis took the reins, Paramount Group has signed tenants for 9,000 square feet at 712 Fifth Avenue and 18,245 square feet at 900 Third Avenue, for $135 and $61 per-square-foot, respectively. [NYO]