Mack-Cali Leases 154,713 SF at Blue Hill Plaza

The largest transaction announced by the Cranford. NJ-based REIT was the 110,037-sf lease renewal and expansion by Active Media Services Inc., a global trading and barter firm. The lease consisted of a 100,950-sf renewal and a 9,087-sf expansion. Mack-Cali's Carol McGuire, director of leasing, represented Blue Hill Plaza in the transactions.

Other deals of note included a significant transaction with DaimlerChrysler Services North America, which is relocating some operations from Tarrytown in Westchester County to 27,500 sf of leased space at Blue Hill Plaza, according to Mack-Cali officials. DaimlerChrysler will house two departments that service the company's dealerships at its new offices in Rockland County. Drew Saunders of Equis Corp. represented the automaker and Mack-Cali's Ivan Abry, director of leasing, represented Blue Hill Plaza.

Also, Iona College of New Rochelle is leasing 11,176-sf of space for a branch campus for its graduate programs and VersaMed, Inc., an international developer and manufacturer of intelligent ventilation systems for patient care, has leased 6,000 sf of space for its marketing and sales operations. CB Richard Ellis' David Opper and Edmund Solarsh represented VersaMed and Mack-Cali's McGuire represented Blue Hill Plaza. In the Iona College transaction, McGuire represented Blue Hill Plaza. Iona College opened its campus at Blue Hill Plaza earlier this month.

Michael A. Grossman, executive vice president of Mack-Cali, comments, "These transactions demonstrate both Mack-Cali's ability to service our very diverse tenant base and Rockland County's appeal to businesses."

He adds, "Right now, we are in discussions with a 100,000-sf requirement that is looking to consolidate operations from outside of Rockland County into Blue Hill Plaza." Grossman did not identify the prospective tenant, noting that the discussions are in their early stages. However, he said that Blue Hill Plaza has seen a pickup in interest from companies outside of Rockland County that are considering a possible move to the property.

Blue Hill Plaza, which consists of two 550,000-sf office buildings, is owned by a joint venture of Glorious Sun and Robert Martin Co. of Elmsford.