Rotter and Fischer of Jones Lang LaSalle represent tenant in 16,884 s/f office lease

Savanna has signed a new 16,884 s/f office lease at 104 West 40th St., a class A office building located next to Bryant Park in Midtown. The 210,000 s/f, 20-story office building was acquired by Savanna in August 2010. Vox Media has signed a lease for 16,884 s/f, encompassing the entire 12,500 s/f 9th floor and 4,400 s/f of the 8th floor. The company will occupy a custom-built suite designed by Robert Finger of Fogarty Finger Architecture. The space offers Vox Media a two-floor presence with an open layout, and includes custom design features such as open ceilings and floors that incorporate polished concrete. Vox Media was represented by Steven Rotter and Jeffrey Fischer of Jones Lang LaSalle. Paul Amrich, Michael Movshovich, and Neil King of CBRE represented Savanna. "We are thrilled to welcome Vox Media to 104 West 40th St. and to continue our successful leasing of the property. With this new lease, we have signed over 83,000 s/f of new office leases, including TKP New York, a conference facility provider, and RDA Ventures, an investment firm," said Cooper Kramer, vice president at Savanna. "The building's prime Midtown location and premier office space continue to drive steady demand, and the Vox Media lease demonstrates the strong interest we have received from a diverse group of companies in the media, technology, and creative industries who are attracted to 104 West 40th St.'s boutique presence in the Bryant Park neighborhood." Savanna has launched a major marketing and leasing program for the remaining 60,000 s/f of available space at 104 West 40th St., which includes a 50,000 s/f contiguous block on the 5th through 8th floors and an additional 6,610 s/f full tower floor. "104 West 40th Street is an ideal location for Vox Media's New York City headquarters, offering a beautiful, custom-built office suite diagonally across from Bryant Park, excellent building amenities, and convenient access to major transportation," said Paul Amrich, vice chairman in the New York City Brokerage Services Group at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). "This significant leasing activity is a testament to ownership's capital plan to reposition the property and the strength of the Midtown market, and we feel very confident in our continued success in early 2012 given the current level of activity on the remaining availability," said Amrich. Since 2007, building ownership has invested over $10 million in major base building upgrades, including a newly refurbished plaza entrance on 40th Street, new elevator cabs, and a renovated lobby, including a commissioned modernist mural by Sarah Morris. Since acquiring the building in 2010, Savanna has built a marketing floor on the 4th floor, completed a full terrace on the 12,500-square-foot 7th floor, and designed and completed the 19th floor prebuilt suite. In addition, Savanna has launched a significant capital program that includes upgrades to the building HVAC system and the building envelope, along with the installation of full building sprinkler infrastructure.