From left: Alan Desino, Colliers International; Woody Heller, Savills, co-chair of REBNY's Sales Brokers Committee; James Cleary and Jeffrey Rosenblatt, The Kaufman Organization; Gregg Rothkin, CBRE; David Robinov, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, co-chair of REBNY's Sales Brokers Committee; Gerry Miovski, CBRE; Andrew Albstein, Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein LLP, judge for REBNY's Sales Brokers Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards/Photo Credit: Ed Lederman

NEW YORK CITY—In its 75th annual celebration, the Real Estate Board of New York honored Gregg Rothkin and Gerry Miovski of CBRE with the first prize in the Sales Brokers' Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards for 2018. They received the Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award for closing a deal, in which the celebrated architect Rafael Viñoly agreed to lease 36,550 square feet, the entire 31st floor at 375 Pearl St. for 20 years. Their work involved negotiating parking access, creation of an outdoor terrace and a purchase option.

In a joint venture with Young Woo & Associates, Sabey Data Center Properties acquired the 32-story building in June 2011 for $120 million, according to Real Capital Analytics. In 2012, the British publication The Daily Telegraph placed the massive concrete tower on its list of “the ugliest buildings in the world.”

Originally built in 1975, 375 Pearl St. was once a telephone switch center. It's also known as the Verizon Building, One Brooklyn Bridge and Intergate.Manhattan. According to CBRE, Rothkin and Miovski convinced Sabey to add glass to the façade, creating 14 floors of floor-to-ceiling windows which modernized the building. In addition to the Viñoly lease, the City of New York has leased approximately 600,000 square feet in the building.

Jeffrey Rosenblatt of the Kaufman Organization won the second prize Robert T. Lawrence Memorial Award. This was Rosenblatt's second time winning an award in the competition.

With James Cleary, Rosenblatt identified space at 1601 Broadway for the theater operation, Open Jar Studios. The brokers worked extensively with Vornado Realty Trust to redesign the space including reinforcing the floors for code compliance and creating double-height ceilings. As a result, Open Jar Studios signed a 50,000-square-foot lease. One of the city's largest facilities for rehearsals, auditions and office space for Broadway shows now plans to open in May 2019.

Alan Desino of Colliers International won the third prize Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award. Desino represented Evercore in securing and expanding its lease at Park Avenue Plaza. The investment banking advisory firm maintained its headquarters and grew its footprint to 350,000 square feet. Evercore consolidated its four New York City offices at the Midtown tower located at 55 E. 52nd St.

“Over the past 75 years, REBNY members competing for these awards have demonstrated immeasurable technical skill and creativity in negotiating complex real estate solutions for their clients,” says REBNY president John H. Banks. “This year was no exception. We congratulate the 2018 award recipients on their outstanding achievements.”

Instant Insights /

CBRE Wins REBNY's 2018 “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year”

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