CNBC HQ to rise in Jersey.

Commercial Developments International/East, Inc. (CDI/East) has been selected as the design/builder of CNBC's new headquarters and studios in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., announces Alan T. Kessler, president and CEO of CDI/ East.

The 500,000-square-foot project will be built on a 22-acre site on Sylvan Avenue (Route 9W), near the George Washington Bridge and 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan.

CNBC's new headquarters will be part of the corporate corridor on Sylvan Avenue often referred to as "the billion-dollar mile". Other prominent companies in the area include Lipton, Best Foods and Conopco. Part of the new CNBC site was once occupied by Lever Brothers.

The CNBC state-of-the-art facility will be built in two phases:

* Phase one will be a three-story, 300,000-square-foot building that includes a 25,000-square-foot studio in column-free 35-foot-high space, 40,000 square feet of technical support space, a fitness center, an employee dining facility and general office space. The completion of phase one is planned for August 2002.

* Phase two of the project, containing 200,000 square feet of additional office space, could be developed within three to five years, at such time as expansion is necessary, says Mr. Kessler.

The architectural firm HLW International has been selected to design the project.

CDI/East is employing the services of its sister companies, KUD International, LLP, and Kajima Construction Services, Inc., to serve as program manager and construction manager, respectively.

CDI/East purchased the Lever site when it became available earlier this year. The site was originally chosen because of its location immediately adjacent to a CDT/East: owned building, which housed the headquarters of CDI/ East's parent company, Kajima Real Estate Development Corporation.

"The 15-acre Lever site, when combined with the CDI/East site, presented us an unusual opportunity to develop a Class-A office park in one of the most desirable locations in the. New York metropolitan area," notes Mr. Kessler.

Besides being adjacent to a building owned by CDI/East, the Lever site also offers unusual aesthetic qualities, says Mr. Kessler.

"The site, the highest point in Englewood Cliffs, has sloping, tree-lined grounds and direct sight lines to midtown Manhattan," he notes. "CDI/East also strongly believed that -- for these reasons and the site's proximity to other high profile companies -- the site could be developed as a high-end build-to-suit for an investment-grade company.

"Colleen Sheridan, executive vice president of CDI/East, was aware that CNBC was looking for a prime location for its headquarters. She approached the person spearheading the search for CNBC, and he was interested enough to visit the site with Colleen and me that day. The rest is history.

CDI/East is a subsidiary of Kajima Real Estate Development Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Kajima Corporation, one of the largest multi-faceted construction companies in the world, specializing in architecture, engineering, and real estate development.

"Because of the strength of our parent, CDI/East brings with it the financial strength and the ability to assure potential tenants or users that a project will be done in a timely manner and within budget," says Mr. Kessler.

Based in Manhattan, CDI/East has vast experience in design/build and build-to-suit projects.

CDI/East is a developer of quality office buildings, office parks, and mixeduse developments, and invests in high quality commercial properties. CDI/ East is a member of the Kajima Group of Companies, whose parent, Kajima Corporation, with operations in over forty countries, is one of the largest development and construction companies in the world.