Over the past 18 months, JLL spearheaded a comprehensive capital improvement program at The Berkeley Building, 19 West 44th St., on behalf of Deka Immobilien GmbH. The building owner renovated the lobby and common corridors, modernized the elevators and upgraded the infrastructure of the 292,968 s/f commercial office building.
The design and architectural finishes were developed by Kahn Architecture & Design P.C., with Vanguard Construction & Development Co. Inc. serving as general contractor. The elevator modernization effort, led by Nouveau Elevator Industries Inc., will involve installation of a destination dispatch elevator system.
The JLL team handling the property management assignment is led Matt Duthie, managing director, with Matthew Kirby-Smith serving as general manager of the building. Project management services were overseen by Michael Chionchio, managing director, along with Joseph Buxbaum and Shannon Ford.
The group worked closely with Real Estate Capital Partners, which serves as the asset manager of the building for Deka Immobilien.
"This was a complex and multi-faceted capital improvement campaign designed to transform the overall efficiency and aesthetics of The Berkeley Building," said Kirby-Smith. "We're particularly excited about the completion of the lobby renovation and the upcoming elevator modernization. These two efforts will truly enhance the everyday experience of tenants and visitors to the building."
The lobby renovation included the addition of a new exhibit of historic images from the early to mid-20th Century, set in glass panels, to the arcade-style lobby, as well as a new reception desk, enhanced lighting and stone finishes. The design and architectural finishes were developed by Kahn Architecture & Design P.C., with Vanguard Construction & Development Co. Inc. serving as general contractor. The elevator modernization effort, led by Nouveau Elevator Industries Inc., will involve installation of a destination dispatch elevator system.
In addition to the lobby and elevator modernization efforts, JLL oversaw a number of additional capital projects that included the design and construction of six pre-built office suites, common corridor and restroom renovations, installation of a new sprinkler infrastructure riser, Local Law 11 façade project, a roof replacement and an electrical riser upgrade.
JLL was named as exclusive commercial office leasing agent, property manager and project manager at The Berkeley Building in late 2012. The office building is located at 19 West 44th St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves. in Midtown, a few blocks from Bryant Park and Grand Central Terminal. Constructed in 1917, The Berkeley Building was designed by Starrett & Van Vleck.
JLL is a leader in the New York tri-state commercial real estate market, with more than 1,600 of the most recognized industry experts offering brokerage, capital markets, property/facilities management, consulting, and project and development services. In 2013, the New York tri-state team completed approximately 25.9 million s/f in lease transactions, arranged capital markets transactions valued at $2.1 billion, managed projects valued at nearly $7 billion, and oversaw a property and facilities management portfolio of 95.3 million s/f and an agency leasing portfolio of 67 million s/f.
DekaBank is the asset manager of the German Savings Banks Finance Group, who is one of the largest banking groups in the world. The Deka Group comprises DekaBank and its subsidiaries. With assets under management totalling approximately 170bn (as at 31 December 2013) and around four million managed securities accounts, the Deka Group ranks among Germany's major securities service providers.
The Deka Group's global property expertise is pooled in its Asset Management Property business division. Capital investment companies Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH and WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH manage and service fund assets in excess of 25 billion Euros (as at 31 December 2013), jointly with service company Deka Immobilien GmbH. DekaBank's property financing department is the second key element within the business division and generates a new business volume of some 2.5 billion Euros p.a.
Shown (from left) are: Michael Kahn, vice president of Kahn Architecture; Heidi Kahn, president of Kahn Architecture; Matthew Kirby-Smith, general manager of 19 West 44th St., with JLL; Joseph Buxbaum, project manager, with JLL; Michael Strauss, president of Vanguard Construction; and Nes Ataselim, senior project manager with Vanguard Construction. Tags: