SEPTEMBER 2019 GLOBEST. REAL ESTATE FORUM 39 www.globest.com/realestateforum
Upon the $25 million investment, the
130-unit luxury apartment complex offers
spectacular city views, excellent, amenities and convenient downtown living, all
while maintaining much of its preserved,
historic character.
The two biggest challenges were work-
ing through the extensive HUD process
and following the environmental require-
ments from the historic tax credit investor.
In both cases it was having a strong team
across the board with complete focus and
tenacity to overcome each hurdle as they
presented themselves.
Great cooperation at all levels of government in the City of Columbia, the
National Parks Service, South Carolina
State Historic Preservation Office, and
the Historic Columbia Foundation all
helped get the job done.
Overall Transformation
10 GRAND CENTRAL
NEW YORK CITY
10 Grand Central is a 500,000-square-foot
office tower, designed by Ely Jacques Kahn
in 1931. The building, located at 155 E
44th Street in New York City, had lost all of
its Beaux Arts architectural charm and
lacked a defining character until Marx
Realty launched a $48 million repositioning and rebranding effort in July 2018.
Acknowledging the building’s desperate need for a powerful transformation,
Marx Realty president and CEO, Craig
Deitelzweig teamed up with Studios
Architecture to lead the entire restoration
project for the historic tower to increase
occupancy while honoring the original
architecture.
The recently completed renovations
consisted of a four-story entry portal, a
new marquee, lobby reimagination and a
“club floor” for tenant amenities. Many
structural beams had to be removed in the
renovation process due to age, in order to
create the high ceiling design. The rede-
sign efforts revealed brushed brass finish-
ings, polished concrete accents,
oversized walnut doors and digital
art installations for an overall
1930s inspired, hotel-like aesthetic, equipped with a uniformed
doorman.
The most prominent, distinguishing change to the structure
was the relocation of the building’s entryway, which returned to its original address
on 44th Street. This was in an effort to
better position the building toward the
iconic neighborhood and to showcase
the building’s proximity to Grand Central
Terminal; something that was not evident
with its previous 3rd Avenue address.
Additionally, the firm created an
entire floor designated for tenant amenities, including a café space, a 36-person
conference facility and an indoor/out-door lounge with a fireplace, all within a
7,500-square-foot space. No detail too
small: the terrace featured plants specifically chosen to reflect 1930s gardens.
The unique project embodied significant historical preservation, as well as a
modern office transformation, which was
delivered in full in May 2019. Since the
project’s completion, the building has
seen a 91% occupancy rate, a 38% ROI,
more than 75% increase in rents and an
increased building value of more than
$150 million.
Mindful of the structure’s original
architecture, Marx Realty saw an opportunity to embrace the hospitality features
and set a new benchmark for office tower
design. 10 Grand Central balances classic
and contemporary design, with an end
result exceeding expectations.
3420 BRISTOL
COSTA MESA, CA
3420 Bristol, the site for the
California Bank & Trust Building
is situated in one of the busiest
retail and business districts in
Orange County, as a part of the
South Coast Plaza Campus in
Costa Mesa, CA. Originally developed in 1962, the seven-story,
66,835-square-foot office building
was conceived by the iconic, mid-century architect William Pereira in
1977.
The building, located on the corner of
Bristol Street and Sunflower Avenue, is
managed by Cushman & Wakefield’s Asset
Services Group. 3420 Bristol’s Cushman &
Wakefield leasing team of Executive Vice
Chairman, Rick Kaplan, Executive
Director, Robert Lambert and Director,
Brian K. Booth, played a critical role in
transforming the property. The leasing
team and South Coast Plaza, worked
alongside the renowned architec-
ture firm, Shubin Donaldson, to
carry out redesign efforts for the
mixed-use building.
In order to meet the demands of
present-day tenants and guests, the
building required extensive renovations, which took place over the
course of 2018. The teams worked
to transform the property into a
lively, contemporary destination, providing new amenities such as an outdoor
patio space, updated landscaping, a fully-refurbished main lobby and ground floor
retail space, along with a complete outer-shell makeover.
