According to Cushman & Wakefield, (C&W) brokerage professional Tara Stacom, vice chairman and Michael Rotchford, executive vice president and head of investment banking, won the first place Henry Hart Rice Award at the Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) sales brokers committee cocktail party recently. The pair won the first prize award for "Transforming a White Elephant Into A Precious Jewel: The Leasing of 1 World Trade Center." The ceremony was held at the 101 Club at 101 Park Ave.
A C&W team, which was led by Stacom and Rotchford and included Louis Wolfowitz, executive director, collaborated to negotiate a new agreement between the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey and site developer Silverstein Properties Inc., and a joint venture between the PANYNJ and The Durst Organization, which ultimately led the way for the lease to Condè Nast for 1.2 million s/f. The leasing team, which includes Jeff Cushman, executive managing director, Alan Stein, executive director, James Searl, senior director, and Jodi Pulice, founder and president of JRT Realty Group, a C&W strategic alliance partner, was selected to spearhead office leasing for the iconic office tower, which is now the city's tallest building.
The Deal of the Year award is given to the transaction whose brokers have used resourcefulness and ingenuity in originating the transactions and seeing them through to completion.
"This is a great achievement for Tara, Michael, and their teams, as well as for Cushman & Wakefield and it's a great example of how the firm's service lines collaborate to best serve our clients," said Joseph Harbert, C&W's COO for the New York Metro Region. "We represented two of the top three largest transactions in Manhattan last year and to have our professionals and firm recognized and honored for the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year is truly a great honor."
In 2011, Cushman & Wakefield had a successful year in leasing, with representation on six of the top 10 largest leasing transaction and the most tenant representation transactions in the top 50 in Manhattan. The firm also earned distinction in Real Estate Forum's October 2011 issue as the No. 1 brokerage firm in Manhattan.

Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately‐held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world's major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917 it has 243 offices in 60 countries and more than 14,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, fully‐integrated on a global basis, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $5.5 billion in assets under management through its wholly‐owned subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Investors.
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