He adds that while he has held discussions with some hotel operators, he plans to wait until he has the necessary permits for the hotel before he selects the company to operate the 120,000-sf facility.

RPW Group is also in the midst of a major repositioning of the 1133 Westchester Ave. building to convert the former IBM property located along the Interstate 287 corridor from a single-user to a multi-tenant facility.

Weisz says that RPW Group plans to build a new atrium as an addition to the existing building's lobby that will make the property's lobby the largest in Westchester County at approximately 30,000 sf. Weisz says of the lobby improvement effort, "It is going to change the entire image of the building."

Among the planned amenities for the new lobby include: a bank branch, a 50-seat restaurant, 36-foot high ceilings, a new 350-seat cafeteria, a large sundry shop and beauty parlor/barber shop that will compliment the existing fitness center. The new atrium project will cost approximately $3 million to complete. Weisz says there will be another $15 million in renovations to the property that will include a new conference center, car wash, dry cleaners and landscaping improvements.

"It will be a full-service building with all the amenities," he says.

RPW Group acquired 1133 Westchester Ave. from IBM last year. Major tenants at the property include IBM, which leases approximately 50,000 sf and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which occupies 70,000 sf. Weisz says that his firm is in talks with a number of parties interested in leasing space at the building.

Weisz says that his firm's repositioning of the property will mirror its highly successful capital improvement effort and multi-tenanting of the former Altria Group complex at 800 Westchester Ave. in Rye Brook.