The Rockefeller Group names CBRE exclusive leasing agent of 1271 Avenue of the Americas

According to CBRE Group, Inc., The Rockefeller Group has appointed the firm as the exclusive leasing agent for 1271 Avenue of the Americas. The 48-story, 2.1 million s/f tower straddles 50th and 51st Sts. opposite Radio City Music Hall, in the center of Midtown Manhattan. Within the next four years, the building, which has an occupancy rate of more than 97%, is anticipated to have as much as 1.9 million s/f available for lease. The building is renowned for its distinctive architectural features and its prominent location in Rockefeller Center. It is also popularly known as home to the fictitious advertising agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Price, from television's Mad Men series. In 2012, the building became one of the largest class A office buildings in Manhattan to achieve LEED Silver certification for energy efficiency. The Rockefeller Group plans to undertake a capital improvement program at 1271 Avenue of the Americas to further enhance the desirability of the building in concert with the leasing program. A CBRE team led by New York Tri-State Region CEO Mary Ann Tighe; vice chairman Howard Fiddle, and executive vice president John Maher, will market the available space in 1271 Avenue of the Americas to prospective tenants, in coordination with Edward Guiltinan, senior vice president of The Rockefeller Group, in Manhattan. "We are delighted to be working with the Rockefeller Group to reintroduce this iconic property to the New York real estate scene," said Tighe. "For years, this magnificent mid-century modern masterpiece has been largely off the radar screen as there has never been any direct space available. Now, however, there is an unusual opportunity for mid-size and large companies to capture space in the center of Midtown, where headquarter-quality blocks are hard to come by. In fact, the market is quickly responding favorably and we already are seeing tremendous interest in 1271 Avenue of the Americas." "We are very pleased to partner with Mary Ann Tighe, Howard Fiddle, John Maher and the rest of the outstanding team from CBRE in the leasing of 1271 Avenue of the Americas," said Guiltinan. "The building's location in the center of midtown, with easy access to numerous modes of public transportation and outstanding amenities, including restaurants, shops, hotels, residential buildings, culture and parks, make it extremely desirable. And we view this moment in time as a unique opportunity to reposition this single-tenant, class A office building as a modern, iconic, multi-tenanted office building." The building was designed by Rockefeller Center architects Harrison & Abromovitz & Harris and built by George A. Fuller Company. The latter is known for its construction of many other prominent New York buildings including the U.N. headquarters, Lever House and the Seagram Building. At 1271 Avenue of the Americas, one of the building's most innovative design features is its use of structural steel exterior columns, which enable virtually column-free interior floors, a prerequisite for many companies in the market today that have prioritized space-planning flexibility and high efficiency. In keeping with the "open space" policy established through the original construction of Rockefeller Center, 1271 Avenue of the Americas incorporates a spacious landscaped plaza along Sixth Avenue featuring a fountain pool leading to a side-street promenade. The plaza, visually distinguished by a wavy sidewalk pattern in alternating grey and white stone that continues throughout the building's lobby, was inspired by Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach and named Americas Plaza after Avenue of the Americas. In-building amenities include well-known and established restaurants including Capital Grille, Ted's Montana Grill and Le Pain Quotidien, as well as direct access to the B, D, F and M subway lines and the shops at Rockefeller Center. Other retail tenants include Fidelity Investments and SNY, a sports media network that operates a street-level broadcast studio. The building is highly accessible. In addition to being a Citi Bike location, it is within walking distance of Grand Central Station, Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and more than a dozen subway lines. The neighborhood's amenities, within a five-block radius, include 10 parks, 10 museums, 65 hotels, 115 theaters and more than 400 restaurants and 2,000 retail stores.