BLOOMFIELD, CONN. — Griffin Land has signed a long-term, full building office lease with KMC Music, Inc., a subsidiary of Fender Musical Instruments Corp. The single-story, 40,344-square-foot facility is located at 55 Griffin Rd. South within the Griffin Center business park in Bloomfield. The 600-acre master planned business park, which was planned and developed by Griffin Land, is situated within easy access to Exits 37 and 38 off Interstate 91; just south of Bradley International Airport. In-park amenities include the newly opened Vito’s by the Water restaurant and function facility, the SS&C SummerWind Performing Arts Center, ponds, and walking trails. Other tenants located in the park include Comcast, Connecticut Light & Power, DaVita, Johnson Controls, Phillips Medical, T-Mobile and TRC Environmental Solutions. Construction of the tenant improvements are already underway, and include remodeling of the reception area, renovations to the open and private office areas, a cafeteria, a multi-purpose meeting/conferencing room, a sound room, and a photo studio. KMC Music is set to occupy the premises in July. Larry Levere of Sentry Commercial, in conjunction with Gary Gregg of CRESA Real Estate Partners represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.
LEVITTOWN, PA. — Sonic, the largest drive-in restaurant chain in America, officially opened for business at Levittown Town Center in Levittown. The restaurants 5,000-square-foot stand-alone store joins other retailers such as Home Depot, Wachovia, and Taco Bell at the 468,675-square-foot retail center. Owned by DLC Management Corp., the center is approximately 85 percent leased. Additional retailers opening this summer include Wal-Mart Supercenter, Ross Dress for Less, Advance Auto Parts, Famous Footwear, Dollar Tree, Deb Shops, GameStop, Sally Beauty, CiCi’s Pizza and many more. Levittown Town Center is slated for completion this summer.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — J.R. Militello Realty/CORFAC International has negotiated a 35,767-square-foot lease at One HSBC Center in Buffalo. Carey Anderson, Jim Militello and Jerry Workman of J.R. Militello Realty brokered the long-term lease renewal for the Consulate General of Canada. The brokers also represented the landlord, Seneca One Realty, in the lease negotiations. In addition to lease renewal, the Consulate also expanded its office space by nearly 50 percent. One HSBC Center features 1.2 million square feet of Class A office space.
PARAMUS, N.J. — Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based DMR Architects has been selected to design a new landscaping facility for Bergen County Special Services at the school’s Paramus campus. The building will contain 7,950 square feet of classroom space, a 1,000-square-foot greenhouse and 5,000 square feet of outdoor landscaping and gardening areas. The building will contain a garage area, a classroom with demonstration space, a computer lab and a biology lab. The greenhouse will be able to simulate a variety of environmental types. The project will be constructed on the site of a former maintenance and storage facility, which will be demolished prior to the beginning of construction. The construction timetable was not released.
ATTLEBORO, MASS. — Skanska USA Building has been selected to serve as project manager for a renovation of Attleboro High School, located at 100 Rathbun Willard Dr. in Attleboro. Major renovations to the 300,000-square-foot building will include a double-roof replacement. The project will begin this fall, with completion scheduled for the end of the year.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. — The dedication ceremony has been held for the new Plainfield Senior Citizen’s Center and Veterans Meeting Hall. The 15,526-square-foot facility, which contains separate areas for the senior center and the veterans hall, is situated on the ground floor of The Monarch, a newly constructed condominium community located at 400 E. Front St. in Plainfield. The condo building contains 63 units and is slated for summer occupancy. The building is being developed by Hillside, N.J.-based P&F Management Co.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based Massey Knakal Realty Services has brokered the sale of an industrial property located at 211-217 Cook St. in the East Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The sites totals 10,000 square feet and contains three steel and frame industrial buildings. The property is zoned for up to 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Massey Knakal’s Mark Lively and Tom Donovan negotiated the transaction between both undisclosed parties. The property traded for $1.15 million.
WHIPPANY, N.J. — Hartz Mountain Industries has signed a 100,000+ square-foot lease with the Breeze-Eastern Corp., a publicly traded designer of lifting devices for military and civilian aircraft. As part of the long-term lease agreement, the company will move its corporate offices and manufacturing facility to 35 Melanie Lane in Whippany. The move to the Whippany facility is expected to be complete by third quarter 2010. Breeze-Eastern will spend approximately $5 million to build out its new offices.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction is complete on 1926 Crotona Parkway, an affordable senior housing community located in the East Tremont section of the Bronx in New York City. The 96-unit rental development offers a range of unit sizes and common area features that include a community room/lounge and landscaped backyard space. The project was developed through a partnership between Atlantic Development Group and Highbridge Community Development Corp., non-profit housing development and management corporation. Highbridge will manage the property going forward. Applicants for the studio, one- and two-bedroom units, must include one household member who is 62 years of age or older at the time of application. Applicants also must meet certain household income requirements. Studios in the building can be rented for $638 per month. One-bedroom units will lease for $683 and the two-bedroom units will lease for $823 per month.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Matrix Development Group has signed a lease with Scholastic Book Fairs at Northeast Business Park in Washington Township. Scholastic will occupy 89,625 square feet of warehouse space and 6,175 square feet of office space at 14 Applegate Drive, a 241,662-square-foot industrial building within Northeast Business Park. The facility offers 26-foot clear height, plentiful door positions and trailer parking and an Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) fire suppression system. It also features easy access to Exit 7A interchange of the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 195. Other tenants within the park include W.W. Grainger, Lifetime Brands Inc., Sleepy's and several regional operators. The park is contiguous to Matrix Business Park at Exit 7A, a 480-acre industrial park that includes such tenants as Mercedes Benz of America and McCaster Carr Co.