GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Kraft Foods Signs 78,000 SF Deal in Tarrytown

Kraft Foods will shift more than 300 employees from its Desserts and Post divisions, along with workers from operations that support its North American businesses, from Rye Brook to the 120 White Plains Rd. property in Tarrytown by this July.

Maureen O'Boyle and Greg Frisoli of Cushman & Wakefield of Connecticut represented Kraft Foods in the transaction. Doug Baddeloo, director, Kraft Corporate Real Estate, also handled lease terms for the firm in-house.

"In order to accommodate Kraft's requirements, we resourcefully crafted a block of space by relocating three tenants within our portfolio, creating a very positive outcome for all parties involved," says Salvatore Campofranco, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Reckson Associates Realty Corp.

To piece together the amount of space Kraft required, Reckson also took back 53,000 sf of space that CIGNA Insurance had on the sublease market at the Reckson Corporate Center. Reckson allowed CIGNA to terminate its lease early, company officials say.

Campofranco, who was assisted by Reckson's Joel Cardillo in the deal, noted that the property's location and amenities were keys to the transaction. Kraft already operates a Technical Center at 555 South Broadway in Tarrytown, where it houses approximately 555 workers. The lease deal brings the 202,000-sf Reckson Corporate Center property, which sits in the shadow of the Tappan Zee Bridge, to 100% occupancy.

"They are coming out of the 'Taj Mahal' and wanted to go to a high-end well fit out, sophisticated office building," Campofranco says. He also credited tenant loyalty and their willingness to be flexible and move to other Reckson space as critical to pulling off the deal.

Kraft had been on the market for space in the Tarrytown area since January when its parent company, the Altria Group, announced it planned to vacate its 625,000-sf complex at 800 Westchester Ave. in Rye Brook, which has been nicknamed by some in real estate circles as the "Taj Mahal." CB Richard Ellis has been retained by the Altria Group as the exclusive agent charged with selling that property.