Lehman Taps L&L to Revamp Gen Re Building

STAMFORD, CT-Having repositioned the former International Toy Center in Manhattan into a class A office property, L&L Holding Co. has been called upon to do the same with the former headquarters of General Reinsurance Corp. here. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has hired L&L to redevelop the 580,000-square-foot 695 E. Main St., which has been vacant since the beginning of this year.

L&L will serve as leasing and managing agent for 695 E. Main, built in 1984 and now known as Financial Centre. L&L managing director Simon Wasserberger and EVP Bill Potts will be in charge of a modernization and redesign program that’s expected to be completed in 12 to 16 months, according to a release.

Lehman and L&L previously partnered on the repositioning of the Toy Center at 200 Fifth Ave., which underwent a $135-million historic renovation on its way to becoming a LEED Gold-certified office property. Current tenants include Grey Advertising, which now occupies 370,000 square feet there, and Tiffany & Co., which signed on for 260,000 square feet this past spring. Lehman retains a 100% ownership interest in 695 E. Main.

At 695 E. Main, the last subtenant, investment banking firm Philo Smith, moved out this past January. Cushman & Wakefield's Sharon Hart, property manager for the Gen Re account, tells GlobeSt.com that all other occupants at 695 E. Main aside from Gen Re were subtenants. Gen Re itself, which had been in the property since it opened and last occupied 300,000 square feet there, moved over to 120 Long Ridge Rd. in Stamford in late 2009. According to the Stamford Advocate, citing figures from Jones Lang LaSalle, the property’s current 100% vacancy skews the rate for the Stamford market upward to nearly 27%.