We made an appointment with Robert Kaufman, the long-time owner of Sage Group Realty, who was sitting with a major vacancy at 747 Third Avenue. We convinced him that this tenant would be a major addition to his building and would help draw in additional tenants.
On a 33,000 square foot space, we achieved a fifteen year lease starting at $26 for five years, $28 for five years, and $30 for five years with the landlord providing a turn-key new building installation which would include an internal staircase.
The unique part of our negotiation was the escalation, which will only go up $.20 per foot per year. Also, Robert Kaufman assumed the BBC's 8-year lease obligation at 30 Rockefeller – a major accomplishment.
As we predicted, several additional tenants relocated due to the BBC's tenancy. As a direct result of our ingenuity, these tenants requested to be represented by Norman Bobrow: Canadian Broadcasting, Brazilian Television, Swedish Television, German Television, Corporate Television, On the Scene, Agence France-Presse and two full floors for Reuters Television.