Groundbreaking and green ribbon cutting held for The Harp: A three-story glass building

Nassau County executive Thomas Suozzi and North Hempstead town supervisor Jon Kaiman served as keynote speakers on Monday, Sept. 22 at the groundbreaking and green ribbon cutting ceremony for The Harp, one of the area's first environmentally-conscious professional office building. "The building will really stand out, not just along Great Neck's 'Miracle Mile' but throughout Nassau County," said Afshin Hedvat, whose Foremost Real Estate is the developer for The Harp. "We've chosen fabricators and contractors who are experienced in building green and we're looking to create a safer working environment, save energy and enhance the atmosphere for the people who work in these offices." Expected to be completed January of 2010, The Harp will be the flagship property for Majestic Property Affiliates, the building's exclusive leasing agent. Majestic Property Affiliates specializes in leasing medical and office space in the North Shore area. With its environmentally-conscious design and loft-style office condominiums The Harp is a genuinely progressive and necessary new product. "I think The Harp reflects the advances that are being made and where American industry is headed. Architecturally the building is heads and shoulders above everything else and will hopefully encourage people to rethink what commercial real estate can mean in this market," said Domenic Maltempi, director of leasing for Majestic Property Affiliates. "We go through so many of these buildings and the products are so indistinguishable from each other, not just architecturally, but also with respect to energy consumption and the overall environment of the space." An all glass building, The Harp's three 18,000 s/f floors will rely primarily on natural light and incorporate energy conserving light systems. The building will also incorporate water conserving fixtures, air flow measurement systems and indoor air contamination reduction. All this serves to create a better building for an enhanced working environment. "We have a developer in Afshin Hedvat who is extremely environmentally conscientious and a designer in Guilor Architects who was told not to think about money and just design the best building they could," said Bob Huhem, president of Majestic Property Affiliates. "But most importantly, we have a progressive community in Great Neck that is ready to embrace this." The Harp is also unique in that each of its floors can be leased but interested parties now have the option to purchase. Those in the medical profession prefer to own their space; a doctor could purchase a whole floor of The Harp and sublease a piece of it to someone else who might complement his practice. The Harp is also notable for its proximity to major highways and prime placement along Great Neck's "Miracle Mile." The building is also close to two major hospitals, North Shore-LIJ and St. Francis Hospital, making The Harp a natural location for a potential medical center. "You give the customer what the customer wants. Everyone in the marketing and leasing end of commercial real estate has seen that customers want a clean, new, environmentally-conscious environment," said Maltempi. "This isn't business as usual, people are putting principles before the bottom-line in the short term because they know it will affect the bottom-line positively in the long term." Hedvat said, "As the developer and owner my goal is to make The Harp a gold-certificate green building and an example for other developers. I hope this building will encourage other developers throughout N.Y. to make more environmentally-conscious buildings."