Avison Young reps Winthrop-University Hospital in opening of Manhattan's first CyberKnife center

Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, today announced that Winthrop-University Hospital has opened Manhattan's first CyberKnife center, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility, at 150 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. Avison Young's New York City office represented Winthrop-University Hospital in identifying the ideally suited site to meet the hospital's unique requirements. Known as Manhattan NYCyberKnife Center, the facility will provide residents of Manhattan and the New York Tri-State area with greater access to Winthrop's CyberKnife services, a pioneering cancer treatment that, via high-tech, computer controlled robotic technology, delivers non-invasive, extremely precise radiation therapy that destroys tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Additionally, Manhattan NYCyberKnife Center will serve as a worldwide training center for CyberKnife practitioners. Avison Young Principals Michael Gottlieb and Martin Cottingham, who represented Winthrop in its 8.200-square-foot (sf) lease, managed the assignment to secure a facility that would enable the hospital to customize its space to support significant weight loads for its advanced technology. In total, Winthrop made capital improvements to its new facility estimated at more than $10 million. "There were a number of challenges inherent to identifying the ideal site for Winthrop-University Hospital's CyberKnife program," Gottlieb comments. "We immediately focused the search on the Upper West Side based on its strong neighborhood demographics. In addition, needing to avoid flood zones and subway lines due to vibration issues, we essentially went door-to-door in the submarket to find the ideal retail site in a beautiful new building that is a perfect fit for the hospital's criteria." Added Cottingham: "This assignment is a great example of our team's expertise successfully advising a diverse range of companies and institutions on complex real estate matters. Ultimately we identified an accessible location in a great neighborhood, and assisted the hospital in navigating a complicated permitting and approvals process to bring this significant deal to fruition." According to Winthrop, which has the busiest CyberKnife program in the United States, the treatment provides hope to patients with tumors and lesions previously considered inoperable or not amenable to treatment with conventional radiation due to damaging side effects. While it has been used effectively in the treatment of various forms of cancer, CyberKnife is especially effective in the treatment of prostate cancer and breast tumors following lumpectomy. CyberKnife teams from around the world will come to the new Manhattan center to be trained. "Winthrop has long been a leader in CyberKnife treatment, and our expansion into Manhattan further demonstrates our commitment to providing more and more patients with access to this state-of-the-art technology," said John F. Collins, president and CEO of Winthrop. "The Avison Young team's expert management of our space search enabled us to secure the right location to support our mission of expanding our CyberKnife program in the critical New York City Metropolitan Area."