MONY to lease Melville site to Olympus.

After an intense search to consolidate its Long Island operations into a single building, Olympus America Inc., the Japanese-owned manufacturer of camera and scientific instruments, has signed a six-year lease for 261,660 square feet of office space at Two Old Sod Farm Road, in Melville, New York. Tishman Real Estate Services Company orchestrated the move, serving as Olympus' exculsive representative.

A the outset, the company planned to build a new headquarters in Melville, but met with opposition from the community. "Under pressure to move because their lease was to expire in 1995, and still hoping to remain on Long Island, Olympus asked us to carry out a feasibility study of their leasing options," said Joseph J. Simone, president of Tishman Real Estate Services.

"After surveying 42 sites, we narrowed down the list to seven. We convinced Olympus that Two Old Sod Farm Road could be sufficiently upgraded to represent their image as well as meet their financial and space requirements. We then proceeded to negotiate a new lease for the premises."

Tishman's affiliate, Tishman Interiors Corporation, will serve as construction manager for an extensive renovation that will include upgrading mechanical systems, cosmetic and structural changes to the building's common areas, elevator improvements, and a new landscaping scheme.

Olympus will lease the premises, vacant since July, from Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY). Remaining on Long Island was considered crucial to the local economy because Olympus employs over 600 people.

Situated approximately 1/2 mile from the Long Island Expressway, just off Route 110, the building, developed in 1983, comprises one story of offices plus a three-story addition built in 1985. The building was formerly occupied by the Grumman Corporation.

MONY took title to the site last September and has been seeking a single-user tenant since then, according to Stephen DeNardo, vice president of Mutual of New York Real Estate Investment Management and Chief Financial Officer of its Advantage Real Estate Services, Inc., property management division.

"We closed this transaction within four months of our first contact with Olympus - a surprisingly quick turn-around for a transaction of this size and complexity," says DeNardo. "The cooperation of state and local officials and the approach taken by olympus and its real estate advisor Tishman enabled us to create a win-win situation for everyone."

According to DeNardo, Olympus has sought to consoldiate its Long Island operations into a single location for its US headquarters. Olympus can exercise a number of options which will keep it at Two Old Sod Farm Road until 2010, and result in a transaction value of between $29 and $73 million.

The facility, formerly occupied by Grumman, will undergo an extensive renovation program designed to Olympus's specifications by The Spector Group. The program includes landscaping, cosmetic and structural alterations to common spaces, elevator rehabilitation, and upgrading the building's mechanical and electrical systems.

MONY's Advantage Real Estate Services (ARES) division, which has been notedly successful in managing much of the insurance company's 25 million square feet of property in 91 markets, was responsible for marketing Two Old Sod Farm Road.

"The Olympus tenancy is an indication of the recovery of the Long Island real estate market," says Evelyn Leon, vice president of asset management for MONY, who has managed the Two Old Sod Farm project since MONY took title to the building in September. "We were approached by numerous prospective tenants for this building as both a single-user site and multi-user site. Long Island tenants are in the market for the right facility in the right location."