Con Edison Entities and Legal Aid Society Renew Deals

Jay Hruska and Andrew Behymer of Cushman & Wakefield of Connecticut represented the tenant, while Ellen Lynch, senior vice president and managing director of Albert B. Ashforth, Inc./EastRidge Properties, represented the landlord. The 701 Westchester Ave. building is part of EastRidge Properties' 1.5-million-sf office portfolio in Westchester County. Albert B. Ashforth Inc. manages the portfolio.

In another major lease renewal here, the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County signed a 10-year lease renewal for its 21,923-sf office with MetLife, the owner of the White Plains Plaza office property. The Legal Aid Society of Westchester County occupies most of the ninth floor at One North Broadway.

Howard E. Greenberg, president of Howard Properties Ltd. of White Plains, was the exclusive tenant representative for Legal Aid. Glenn Walsh of Cushman & Wakefield represented the building owner.

The Legal Aid Society of Westchester County is a longtime tenant of White Plains Plaza, initially relocating in 1973 from a building across the street from the old Westchester County Courthouse, which was later demolished to make way for the Galleria Mall.

The Legal Aid Society looked at about nine other properties before deciding to remain at One North Broadway. However, the society's search was limited to the greater White Plains area. "We had to stay in White Plains because we need to be in close proximity to the superior courts, which are located in White Plains," Stephen J. Pittari Esq., executive director and chief legal counsel of the society notes.

Greenberg adds that the Legal Aid Society's recommitment to Downtown is "another testament to the increasing advantages of the White Plains Central Business District, its infrastructure, its transportation systems, and its proximity to the courts, all of which are critical to the Legal Aid Society."