CBS renews lease at 555 West 57th Street.

Broadcast giant CBS has decided to keep its West Side studios at 555 W. 57th St., signing a 10-year extension with SL Green for its 189,000 s/f lease.

CBS has occupied four floors at the building, located between 10th and 11th Avenues, for the past 30 years. One-and-a-half floors are devoted to studio, technical and office space for "60 Minutes" and "60 Minutes II," while other space is devoted to programs such as "Inside Edition."

The network's parent company, Viacom, is SL Green's largest tenant, taking up more than 1.2 million s/f at 1515 Broadway, its corporate headquarters. Gerald Nocera, an executive vice president for SL Green, credited the company's director of leasing and executive vice president, Steve Durels, as well as Edward Piccinich, the company's director of operations, for helping to secure the transaction and meet the tenant's "ever-changing needs."

"We keep putting capital back into our buildings," Nocera said. The landlord is in the process of upgrading the building's common areas, including the lobby, corridors and elevators.

Nocera said the building's features, including heavy air-conditioning, modern telecommunications technology and round-the-clock security, played a part in the company deciding to stay put.

Although details of the transaction were not disclosed, asking rents in the building are $33 per s/f, Nocera said. Other tenants in the building include the Greater New York Hospital Association, Ticketmaster, and BMW of Manhattan.

CB Richard Ellis' Scott Gottlieb and Michael Langinestra represented the tenant in the transaction.