In early April, just a month after Equity Office Properties Trust was acquired by the Blackstone Group of New York City, Blackstone signed a contract to sell Equity's Stamford office portfolio to RFR Holding LLC of New York City in a deal valued at approximately $850 million. That transaction closed this past August.

The largest new lease signed with RFR was with Cowen Healthcare Royalty Management, a private equity firm that will relocate from 1221 Ave. of the Americas in Manhattan to 4,921 sf of space at 177 Broad St. The firm signed a five-year deal at the property. Trip Hoffman, Jodie Dostal and Fred Smith of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the deal.

Commenting on its deal with RFR, Alyson Goldfarb, CFO of Cowen Healthcare, says, "for a number of reasons, Cowen chose 177 Broad St. as the site for our corporate headquarters. The building offers the prestigious office environment necessary for our firm, as well as excellent on-site amenities and accessibility. We're looking forward to growing our business here." RFR's Stamford office holdings include One, Two, Three and Four Stamford Plaza, 300 Atlantic St. 177 Broad St. and the office/apartment complex Canterbury Green.

First Source signed a five-year lease for 4,072 sf of space for its North American headquarters. The India-based business process outsourcing service provider will occupy space on the 10th floor of 177 Broad St. Adam Klimek of Cushman & Wakefield represented First Source in the transaction.

Other deals at 177 Broad St. include a lease expansion by CB Richard Ellis of nearly 4,000 sf, bringing its presence at the building to 18,591 sf. Also, the law firm Finn Dixon & Herling LLP expanded its leased space at the property by 2,000 sf, bringing its operation on to more than 29,000 sf at the building. Albert B. Ashforth's Jeff Gage and George Walker represented the tenant in the deal.

Rounding out its new lease deals, Harman International, a manufacturer of high fidelity audio and electronics products, signed a lease for 2,465 sf on the 15th floor of the 251,510-sf Two Stamford Plaza building. Harman was represented by Jay Hruska of Cushman & Wakefield.