Hedge Fund Signs 40,000-SF Lease

Strategic Value Partners, currently based on 80 Field Point Rd. here, has signed a multi-year lease to occupy approximately 40,000 sf of space at the 150,000-sf building, reports Antares Investment Partners, which purchased the complex in February for $130 million from UST.

UST will be vacating the building in September. Soon thereafter Antares expects to begin a nearly $30-million renovation program at the property. The renovations are expected to take six months to complete and the building will be ready for occupancy in early 2008. Stephen M. Banker, managing principal of Newmark Knight Frank's Greenwich office, represented Strategic Value Partners in the transaction.

Antares reports it has hired New York City-based Perkins Eastman to lead the redesign effort for the property. "We are thrilled that SVP has chosen to relocate from its current headquarters in Greenwich to begin its next chapter of growth," says John Wheeler, president of corporate acquisitions at Antares. "100 W. Putnam will provide a ready-built environment that will accommodate the firm's unique infrastructure requirements, provide its clients and staff with a sophisticated office complex that is rich with amenities, steps from Greenwich Avenue and only a short train ride into Manhattan."

Among the improvements planned for the property include: a new lobby with an onsite café, newsstand and atrium; a state-of-the-art fitness center; redesigned landscaping and valet parking and private shuttle service to the Greenwich Metro North Station.

Joseph P. Beninati, managing partner of Antares Investment Partners, says that after the renovations are complete, "This building will be an iconic structure and the premier address for hedge funds, private equity firms and financial services firms in Greenwich."

James Cabrera, co-founder and managing partner of Antares, adds, "Once completed, we are confident that the tenant experience in this building will rival premier commercial spaces in Manhattan like 9 W. 57th, the General Motors Building and the Seagrams Building."