PHILADELPHIA — Construction is underway on Lenfest Hall, a new $65 million, 106,000-square-foot music education and student residence center for The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Located at 1610 to 1618 Locust Street, the nine-story facility will include 88 student residences, an orchestra rehearsal room, studios, a kitchen, dining, lounge spaces and practice rooms to accommodate the school’s long-established needs for additional space. The new building is registered for LEED certification with the U.S. Green Building Council. The development manager for the project is Razak/Athenian and the architect of record is Venturi, Scott Brown Associates. The project is slated for completion in time for the fall 2011 semester.
CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS — Especially for Pets has signed on for 5,025 square feet of space at The Village Shoppes in Canton. The store is set to open this June. Owned by The Wilder Companies, The Village Shoppes is a 282,800-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center located at the intersection of Route 27 and Washington Street. The center includes 40 merchants such as Shaw’s, Jos. A. Bank, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, Bertucci’s, and Starbucks.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based SL Green Realty Corp. has completed a $40 million capital improvements program at three of its New York City office towers: 16 Court Street in Brooklyn, and 810 Seventh Avenue and 711 Third Avenue in Manhattan. Improvements at all three buildings included extensive lobby renovations. At 16 Court Street, which is a 38-story, 284,000-square-foot tower, the new lobby includes polarized quartz floor tiles, as well as black granite, white glass and walnut wood finishes. At 810 Seventh Avenue, which is a 41-story, 553,000-square-foot tower, the new lobby contains a new, subtle lighting scheme, with stone and dark-stained bamboo finishes, as well as a custom bamboo reception desk. At 711 Third Avenue, a 20-story, 553,000-square-foot building, the new lobby improvements included the restoration of a 200-square-foot mosaic mural that consists of 500,000 Venetian glass tiles in 500 different color shades. Other improvements included new windows, new elevator cabs, a façade restoration, and infrastructure, common area and restroom upgrades at 16 Court. At 810 Seventh, additional renovations included new elevator cabs, as well as restroom and common area upgrades. Finally, at 711 Third Avenue, elevator cabs and common corridors were also upgraded.
DAYTON, N.J. — Chicago-based UGL Equis has negotiated Agfa’s renewal of 172,430 square feet of warehouse space, located at 400 Heller Park Ct. in Dayton. The building is situated near the New Jersey Turnpike. It marks the second time that the analog and digital imaging company has renewed its lease for this location. Peter Yannotta and Sam Horowitz of UGL Equis represented Agfa in lease negotiations. The pair also represented Agfa in its first lease renewal. Jeffrey Milanaik provided in-house representation for the landlord, Edison, N.J.-based Heller Industrial Parks. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Manhattan, New York City-based RFR Realty has begun a multi-million dollar renovation to Stamford Plaza, a four-building, 968,500-square-foot, Class A office complex located in Stamford. Improvements include upgrades to the elevators in One and Two Stamford Plaza. Three Stamford Plaza will see the addition of new lobby finishes, tenant lounges, a video conferencing center, a fitness center, a private dining room and specially commissioned artwork in the building’s lobby. A monumental stone staircase and a reflecting pool will be installed between Three and Four Stamford Plaza. In addition, Four Stamford’s driveway will be expanded. Campus-wide improvements include the redesign and renovation of the buildings’ interconnected hallways; new exterior and interior signage; structural work; mechanical, HVAC and fire safety upgrades; and landscape improvements. The construction timetable was not released.
CARLISLE, PA. — Wolfe & Shearer Realtors completed the sale of the former Red Devil Restaurant & Lounge, located at 14-16 N. Pitt S. in Carlisle. The buyer, Bruges Properties, plans to renovate the property and open a fine dining restaurant this summer. Bill Shearer of Wolfe & Shearer represented the buyer. The undisclosed seller was represented by Wayne Deakin, also of Wolfe & Shearer. The purchase price was not disclosed.
EAST AURORA, N.Y. — The Buffalo, N.Y., office of Pyramid Brokerage Co. has arranged the sale of a 2.2-acre land parcel, located at the intersection of Main and Olean streets in East Aurora, for the construction of a CVS/pharmacy store. The project will consist of the relocation of an existing pharmacy. CVS Albany LLC purchased the property for $1.9 million. Zaremba Group is the construction project’s developer. Arthur Judelsohn and David Seider of Pyramid Brokerage negotiated the transaction. The seller was undisclosed.
JENKINS TOWNSHIP, PA. — Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services has leased a newly constructed, speculative industrial building located in Jenkins Township in Pennsylvania’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. Safelite AutoGlass will occupy the 44,800-square-foot facility, which is situated on 5 acres within CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park. The facility was built by Mericle and was completed in February. It will serve as one of Safelite’s largest warehouses in the United States. Joseph McDermott and Vincent Ranalli of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenants. Mericle, which is also the developer of CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park, was represented in-house by Jim Hilsher. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has signed new leases at 100 Park Avenue, a 36-story, 825,851-square-foot office tower located in Manhattan, New York City. First Wall Street Group signed a lease for the building’s entire 20th floor, totaling 15,945 square feet. The lease carries a 7-year term. In addition, Wells Fargo Trade Capital Services, which signed a 10-year lease for 44,716 square feet 2 months ago, has expanded its lease to include an additional 12,293 square feet on the second floor. Paul Glickman, Alex Chudnoff, Tara Stacom, Miti Liebersohn, Diana Biasotti and Jonathan Tootell of Cushman & Wakefield represented SL Green in both lease transactions. SL Green had recently completed a $72 million redevelopment of 100 Park Avenue. Additional tenants at the property include BDO Seidman, J&W Seligman Co., Kreindler & Kreindler, and Novantas.
BOSTON — The Prudential Tower, an approximately 1.5 million-square-foot, Class A office tower located in Boston, has received the Energy Star award for sustainability. Energy-saving measures at the building, which is owned by Boston Properties, include the installation of solar film, upgrades to the building’s mechanical and HVAC systems, upgrades to the building’s automation systems, lighting retrofits in common areas and mechanical rooms, and the installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures. With the awarding of this building, all of the 2.6 million-square-foot Prudential Center is now Energy Star certified. Boston Properties now has more than 3.8 million square feet of Energy Star certified office space in Massachusetts.