American Financial Realty Trust Completes 70,000 Square Foot Sublease at Harborside Plaza 10; Leading Hedge Fund Administrator Leads New Interest in Jersey City Office Property.JENKINTOWN, Pa. -- American Financial Realty Trust (NYSE:AFR AFR - Acid Fractionation Recycle AFR - Advanced Fuel Reprocessing AFR - Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. AFR - Affordable Readiness AFR - African AFR - African Department (International Monetary Fund) AFR - Afrikaans (South African language) AFR - Air Force Regulation AFR - Air Force Reserve AFR - Air France (ICAO code) AFR - Air-to-Fuel Ratio AFR - Allocation Formation Reclassement AFR - Alt.fairs.), today announced completion of a 15-year, 70,000 square foot lease with Citco Fund Services, a global leader in hedge fund administration, at Harborside Plaza 10, a Class-A office property located on the waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. The deal eliminates a significant vacancy from the company's portfolio, and the company further reports that the balance of its space at Harborside Plaza 10, aggregating approximately 145,000 square feet, is under negotiation with multiple parties. Citco Fund Services, which administers more than 1,700 funds totaling more than $300 billion in assets, selected Plaza 10 to accommodate the rapid growth of its Hedge Fund Services Division. The company maintains 14 offices worldwide and is the leading supplier of custodial and administrative services for the alternative investment fund industry. Citco was recently ranked by Hedge Fund Manager as the fastest-growing hedge fund administrator in the United States. As part of the deal, the company will occupy 70,000 square feet of contiguous space on the 6th and 7th floors, where it will employ a staff of 350 people. Occupancy is expected for June 2006. "Plaza 10 provides the high-end finishes and advanced technology we need to comfortably grow our business," says Jay Peller, managing director of Citco Fund Services. "AFR's knowledge of the financial service sector and their commitment to finding solutions to our office requirements, made it possible for us to select Jersey City and Plaza 10. The building's investment in technology, vast open floor plates, high ceilings, combined with the abundant amenities and convenient access to Manhattan, where we will retain our existing office space, made it an ideal property to expand our Hedge Fund Services operations." "We are seeing a resurgence of interest in the Jersey City Waterfront," says Michael Weil, vice president of sales and leasing at American Financial Realty. "We are witnessing a high volume and diverse mix of financial service companies approaching us looking for high-end space with new technology. The benefits of tax incentives, more affordable rents per square foot compared to New York City, as well as a skilled labor force and convenient access to Manhattan, are making Jersey City the location of choice for technology and financial service companies." Harborside Plaza 10 (http://www.plazaten.com), located at 2nd Street along the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, NJ is the preeminent office space on either side on the Hudson. The 19-story tower, designed by HLW HLW - Herz Lungen Wiederbelebung (German: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) HLW - High Level Waste HLW - High Low Water (same as LW neaps) International LLP, features 594,000 square feet of Class-A office space. The building's high-tech features include two self-contained 1,500 kilowatt generators providing 24/7 redundant power supply and state-of-the-art redundant fiber optic communications along with efficient floor plates ideal for use by financial service businesses. Plaza Ten also provides a lower-cost alternative to Manhattan real estate, a 20 minute drive to Newark International Airport, seven minute ferry ride to Wall Street, access to some of the nation's most important freeways, and proximity to helicopter launch pads, as well as a marina. American Financial Realty's brokerage team was led by Frank Doyle of Jones Lang LaSalle and including Cynthia Wasserberger, John Meisel, Tom Reilly, Sam Buckley, and Jay Lapham, handled the leasing of the asset for American Financial Realty Trust. Citco Fund Services was represented by a team from CB Richard Ellis, led by Kenneth D. Rapp and including Ramsey M. Feher, Scott A. Wilpon, Jon Herman, and Richard Nocom. For additional information about leasing opportunities with American Financial Realty Trust or the Citco Fund Services lease, contact Jason Slear, Managing Director of Office Leasing and Sales, at 215-876-2280 or jsleer@afrt.com. About Citco Fund Services (www.citcoweb.com) is the global leader in a complete range of accounting, administration, shareholder and corporate services to hedge funds and funds of funds. The company structures its offerings to truly complement the business objectives of fund managers with large pools of equities, bonds, money market and derivative instruments under management. Citco Fund Services has offices in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Caribbean. About American Financial Realty Trust American Financial Realty Trust is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust that acquires properties from, and leases properties to, regulated financial institutions. The Company owns and manages its assets primarily under long-term triple net and bond net leases with banks. The Company is led by chief executive officer Nicholas S. Schorsch and nonexecutive chairman Lewis S. Ranieri. The Company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AFR. For more information on American Financial Realty Trust, visit the Company's website at www.afrt.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||

Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion