NEW YORK CITY-The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday issued an RFP for the long-term net lease and redevelopment of a Madison Avenue blockfront near Grand Central Terminal, including the transit agency's headquarters at 347 Madison Ave. It's part of the MTA's ongoing efforts to rightsize its real estate portfolio, a program first announced in 2011.
Cushman & Wakefield is serving as the MTA's exclusive broker on the 341-347 Madison Ave. lease and will advise the agency on evaluating responses to the RFP. In a release, C&W says the MTA will vacate its Madison Avenue berth; a spokesman for the MTA tells GlobeSt.com the agency will move its headquarters space to the Sapir Organization's 2 Broadway, where it is already a major tenant. The relocation is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, the spokesman says.
The developer selected to take on the net lease of 341-347 Madison will be expected to demolish the existing buildings shortly after the MTA has moved out, then completely redevelop the site. The opportunity arises as the Bloomberg administration moves forward with its plan to rezone the area around GCT, a corner of Manhattan known as Midtown East.
Completed in 1917, the 20-story 347 Madison comprises slightly less than half the 561,000 square feet of office space on which the MTA owned the fee interest when it announced its rightsizing plan in March '11. The sale or lease of 347 Madison was among the possible scenarios identified at that time.
“We will finally rationalize the MTA's use of office space, currently scattered inefficiently across a series of headquarters facilities,” according to a January '11 MTA report titled “Making Every Dollar Count.” The report said the agency would “maximize the benefit of the office space we need and sell off properties we don't to support investment in our transit network. Overall, we will reduce the space we occupy by 15%.” It has since put several properties on the block.
A formal RFP document is now available on the MTA website and may be accessed here. Proposals are due by August 14.
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