Studley brokers 98,454 s/f relocation for Sumitomo Corporpation at 300 Madison Avenue

In a major boost for Midtown East, a global trading company is moving its North American headquarters to the Grand Central submarket. Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) has signed an 11-year, 98,454 s/f lease for the entire 3rd and 4th floors at 300 Madison Avenue, in a transaction brokered by commercial real estate services firm Studley. The investment firm, which currently occupies 74,000 s/f at 600 Third Avenue in Murray Hill, planed to move into its new space in November 2013. Studley's executive managing director Marc Shapses, along with executive vice president Michael Goldman, corporate managing director Kunihiko "Key" Otomo and executive managing director Joe Messina, represented Sumitomo in the leasing transaction, while Sarah Pontius of Brookfield Office Properties represented the sub-landlord, CIBC Delaware Holdings Inc./Brookfield Office Properties, on the deal. According to Shapses, Sumitomo wanted to streamline its office operations by becoming more efficient with their space. "SCOA currently occupies seven floors at 600 Third Avenue and they wanted to be on two contiguous floors," he said. "In addition, they wanted to be near Grand Central in a newly-constructed building with great value." Michael Goldman notes that the 35-story, 1.1 million s/f property, which is located one block west of Grand Central Terminal, is home to other respected multi-national tenants including PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. "This is an ideal location for high-profile companies looking for great space, excellent amenities and unmatched access to transit," he said. SCOA, with consolidated assets of $7.2 billion, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, an integrated trading and investment enterprise.