Grubb & Ellis execs win REBNY award.

Grubb & Ellis Company, one of the leading providers of integrated real estate services, announced Dan Gronich and Robert Yaffa received the Real Estate Board of New York's 2002 Henry Hart Rice "Most Ingenious Deal of the Year" Award for the emergency relocation of the U.S. Customs Service following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

The "Oscar" of the New York real estate industry, the "Most Ingenious Deal of the Year" award is a coveted symbol of achievement and distinction among real estate executives in the largest office market in the world. Conceived in 1944, the award is given for the transaction judged to be the "most ingenious in conception, development and completion" and recognizes the professionals "for their outstanding achievement in a field of keen competition and through their exceptional ability in overcoming problems."

"This Lease represents tenacious creativity and we are honored to recognize a transaction of this caliber," said Woody Heller, chairman of the REBNY's Sales Brokers Committee, which presents the award each year.

The award was named in 1991 for Henry Hart Rice, a former Grubb & Ellis employee and four-time winner of the award. Gronich, now a two-time winner, received the award for the first time that same year, for the lease of the Russian Trade and Cultural Center at 5 World Trade Center.

Presented at the REBNY annual cocktail party, Gronich and Yaffa were in attendance to receive the award. "We are tremendously honored to be recognized," acknowledged Yaffa. Gronich added, "And to have assisted U.S. Customs in immediately returning to work securing New York City and the nation's borders."

Immediately following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 that destroyed the agency's 600,000-SF regional headquarters at 6 World Trade Center, USCS representatives and the General Services Administration began working with Gronich and Yaffa to identify relocation options. In view of the enhanced importance of USCS' role in the post-Sept. 11 environment, the agency's need for new space was a national priority.

Within one week, Gronich and Yaffa negotiated and closed a 140,500-SF long-term-lease at One Penn Plaza for the relocation of. USCS' executive regional offices, and secured an additional 55,000 SF of finished space by leasehold condemnation at 601 West 26th St. (the Starrett-Lehigh Building) to house the agency's enforcement division as well as an on-site 250-car indoor parking garage. Within 14 months of Sept. 11, Gronich and Yaffa successfully turned the condemnation into a 266,327-SF long-term lease for the entire USCS Enforcement Division regional center of operations, ultimately requiring the simultaneous agreement of 10 disparate parties, including the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office, before a federal judge.

Gronich, chairman of Grubb & Ellis New York, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Grubb & Ellis Company, is a 30-year veteran of the New York real estate market. He is credited with many large and creative transactions both locally and nationally. Yaffa, executive managing director, has 13 years. of experience in New York City commercial real estate, has been continuously ranked as a top producer nationally at Grubb & Ellis and was the top producer in the company's Midtown office in 2002. Senior associate Wayne Van Aken, Jr., and associate Mitchell Richter were also part of the account team.