Public corridors throughout the 21-story Garment District sitewill be redone; there will be a new lobby and entrance, completewith marble floors and walls and a new concierge desk. In addition,the elevator cabs and mechanical equipment will be modernized andthe building's mechanical systems will be upgraded to allow foradditional electrical capacity. Other items on the to-do listinclude putting in new windows, new washrooms, a new HVAC systemand new mechanical and safety systems. The site will also feature apre-built space program that includes new ceilings, lighting andflooring and for what W&H calls "highly-efficient spacelayouts."

The renovation, which is expected to be completed by the end ofthe year, comes on the heels of two major lease signings. First up,vertical software company i-Deal inked a long-term deal for 46,000sf of space at an asking price of $35 per sf. And RedeemerPresbyterian Church will move its offices from different floors at271 Madison to 23,000 sf, which represents the entire floor.Newmark & Co. serves as the managing and leasing agent for thesite. Eric Yarbro, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis,repped the church in the negotiation process.

"Redeemer was attracted by the opportunity to lease a largeblock of space in a building about to undergo a major restoration,"Yarbro says, adding that they also liked the fact that they will beable to house all their offices and operations on one floor, asopposed to five in their current location.