The announcement comes on the heels of some major maintenance services assignments in recent months. Specifically Grubb & Ellis' Management Services division was awarded the maintenance services contact for Aetna's 3.7 million-sf portfolio in the Hartford-CT area in November and secured SONY's 815,000-sf facility on Madison Avenue in Manhattan last month. According to area brokers, MasterCard International's headquarters site on Manhattanville Road totals more than 470,000-sf. The complex was formerly owned by IBM Corp.

"We were referred to MasterCard International by an existing client and we won this assignment through a competitive bidding process," says Maureen Ehrenberg of Grubb & Ellis Management Services. "This is another in a string of significant wins for Grubb & Ellis."

Grubb & Ellis officials note that MasterCard has retained management of some unspecified maintenance services functions at the property. No value of the contract was released.

Rich Angarano of Grubb & Ellis Management Services' Southbury, CT office notes, "Our assignment began this fall. We are working closely with MasterCard's real estate division and Local 30 Operating Engineers, and we expect to deliver great value to MasterCard."

Anganaro handles a portfolio of larger Grubb & Ellis Management Services clients, which account for approximating seven million sf of space in the Northeast Region. Grubb & Ellis Management Services' portfolio totals approximately 30 million sf of space in the tri-state area.

In addition to the large maintenance services deals secured by the firm recently, a few weeks ago Grubb & Ellis reported that it had been retained as exclusive agent by the ownership of the former Union Carbide headquarters complex in Danbury, CT. Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, will not be renewing its lease for the 1.2-million sf Corporate Center complex. Dow currently occupies approximately 300,000 sf of space there at the moment. Sources familiar with the property estimate that Dow has approximately five years left on its lease at the Danbury property.