Cohen Bros to revamp former Kraft Foods HQ as multi-tenant building.With a $77 million refinancing package in hand, a Manhattan-based developer is turning the former Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in North America and the second largest in the world after Nestlé SA. The Philip Morris Company (now known as Altria Group), a company that produces tobacco products, acquired Kraft for headquarters in White Plains into a multi-tenant corporate center. "We're transforming a building that was designed for a single user into multi-tenant space," said developer Charles Cohen Based in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, Charles Cohen has been creating music since 1971. Taking inspiration from free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor[1], his music is entirely improvisational and produced solely on a vintage Buchla Music Easel synthesizer, an extremely , President and Chief Executive Officer of Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. Brothers Realty Corporation. Cohen Brothers recently secured financing for the 600,000-square-foot building at 333 Westchester Ave. The refinancing package includes a construction loan from Canadian Imperial Bank and "takeout" financing from the Union Labor Life Insurance Company The Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO) is a privately held life and health insurance company in the United States. ULLICO was founded in 1925 by the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which wanted to offer working people affordable health and life insurance. , which was arranged by Richard Horowitz Richard Horowitz (born January 6 1949 in New York City) is a composer, producer, arranger, and musician (keyboard, ney, and percussion). He is best known for his work on The Sheltering Sky of Cooper-Horowitz Inc. Takeout financing, generally required by issuers of construction, is a commitment to provide long-term financing Long-term financing Liabilities repayable in more than one year plus equity. for a project after certain conditions have been met. Developers usually have to fulfill certain conditions, such as a preleasing requirement, before the takeout loan is issued. The project's original lender, Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston was originally the trading name of the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston, a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture formed in 1978 between the First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse. , has been fully repaid and has no further interest in the property. Cohen Brothers bought the building several years ago and recently took over the leasing assignment. Cohen Brothers' leasing team, which includes David Nevins David Nevins is an American television producer and screenwriter, most notable for his work as a producer on the Fox comedy television series Arrested Development. , Chip Sealy, Greg Sandier, and Steve Fredericks, is overseeing leasing activity, Cohen said. About 80,000 square feet of space in the building is being leased to the following tenants: MovieFone, Inc.; steel trading company MACSTEEL ASOMA; America Online; law firm Fredman & Rosan; benefits consulting firm Rosenfeld & Tortu; and software development firm The Nexus Group. The remaining half million square feet of space is vacant and available for leasing, Cohen said. "This is the largest block of contiguous prime space available in Westchester County," Cohen said. Cohen Brothers owns and manages over ten million square feet of Manhattan and Los Angeles commercial space. The firm has been active for over 40 years in real estate investment, ownership, management, and development. Under renovation plans, the former headquarters will be transformed into four interconnected mid-rise buildings on the 39-acre site with landscaped gardens and courtyards. The corporate center is designed to accommodate small-, medium-, and large-sized companies, Cohen said. "We're available for today's market at rents below $30 a square foot," he said. Under a plan developed by architect Philip Johnson, the center is being enhanced with new lobby treatments and brightly colored, elliptical el·lip·tic or el·lip·ti·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or having the shape of an ellipse. 2. Containing or characterized by ellipsis. 3. a. outdoor monuments at each of the building entrances. The monuments are intended to provide each building with a unique identity. Amenities at the complex include a freestanding fitness center, over 2,000 parking spaces and a 20,000 square foot dining and cafeteria facility, Cohen said. "The complex has always been upscale. Kraft spared no expense with it," he said. |
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