GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Large Lease Deal Is on the Horizon

Speaking at a forum, Cotter said if the lease deal closes, the project could break ground by late spring 2005. During his presentation, which initially covered the status of the firm's existing i-Park on Hudson development, Cotter said, "Our most interesting news of the day is that we are very close to signing a tenant for 100,000 sf for our Metro Center." Cotter would not reveal the identity of the prospective tenant, except to say that the company is not currently based in Westchester County.

The Metro Center at i-Park will total 150,000 sf of office space with four levels of parking (approximately 1,000 cars). Cotter related that the design of the building will conform with the Yonkers Riverfront Library and Board of Education building that is near the site. The Metro Center building, which will have floor plates of approximately 50,000 sf, will have a direct connection to the Yonkers train station.

While the firm is still marketing available space at the building, "Given our tenancy we are working with, we already have our financing lined up subject to us getting our lease done," he said.

The National RE/Sources executive also informed the gathering that its existing 18-acre i-Park on Hudson development has proven to be quite successful. The former Port Authority Industrial Park complex that is located next to the Metro Center at i-Park is currently 100% occupied. The 700,000-sf complex was about 50% occupied when Cotter's firm acquired the property in 1999.

Cotter spoke along with fellow developers Arthur Collins of Collins Enterprises and Robert MacFarlane of Homes for America Holdings. They gave presentations to the approximately 100 attendees of the event presented by the city's Office of Economic Development.

Collins, a principal of Collins Enterprises of Stamford, CT, said that his firm is working on the second phase of its Hudson Park at Yonkers residential development project on the city's waterfront. Collins said his firm has applied for state brownfield tax credits, which he termed as the "linchpin" to the project's success. The bronwfield tax credits could provide the firm with credits of up to 18% of the development cost of the venture as well as the funds necessary for the continuation of a Hudson River Esplanade that fronts the project's first phase.

The second phase of Hudson Park at Yonkers will feature 282 units of residential housing and a 350-car parking garage. Total development cost of the second phase has been estimated at approximately $90 million. Collins said that if his firm obtains the brownfield tax credits and city approval of its plans, the project could break ground by the middle of 2005.

Rental activity at the first phase of the project, which features 262-units, has picked up considerably after an "anemic start," Collins noted. The complex is now 80% occupied and 90% leased.

The program concluded with Homes for America chief executive officer McFarlane giving a short presentation on his firm's Station Plaza office building, which is currently under construction. He said that construction on the building, which is approximately 70,000 sf, should be completed by year's end. The firm will then occupy 20,000 sf at Station Plaza as its corporate headquarters.