News group moves to 290,000 s/f space.

The Associated Press began relocating to its new home at 450 West 33rd Street last weekend, the first step in a move scheduled for completion during the remaining two weekends of July.

According to Jack Stokes, the AP's director of media relations, by August 1, the news organization's four Manhattan offices should be consolidated at the new 290,733 s/f space whose lease the company signed last summer after former tenant, Double-Click, surrendered its commitment in an effort to downsize.

David Dusek of Cushman & Wakefield represented the AP in the deal, Jones Lang LaSalle represented Max Capital Management Corp and Newmark & Company represented Double-Click.

The yearlong delay for the move allowed for renovations on the top three floors of the 16-story building, which the AP will occupy. The space includes a state of the art newsroom with wireless Internet access and audio/video feeds at every desk. Studios and production facilities have been constructed for the AP's television and radio operations. But aside from the upgraded amenities, company insiders feel the new proximity of the AP's many facilities will be the greatest asset afforded by the headquarters.

"The real key is that all of our New York operations are now going to be under one roof," Stokes said. "Our news departments used to function separately, now they're on the same floor. Communication will be a lot easier and that will lead to faster and better decisions about breaking news coverage and planning. We obviously hope that will reflect in our reporting."

While the extensive renovations required the entire space to be initially gutted, construction never fell behind schedule. Even a small fire in a mechanical room on the 14th floor on July 8 didn't derail the time frame of the move.

Started when sparks from a welding torch ignited air conditioning filters, the fire caused minor smoke and water damage.

"I saw before and after pictures of the mechanical room where the fire started and the damage had to be pointed out for me to even notice it," Stokes said. "The fire could have been a big deal and it could have thrown off the whole moving schedule, but fortunately it didn't."

As evidenced by the sheer size of the lease, the move won't be a squeeze for the world's largest newsgathering organization. The AP's total space before was roughly 200,000 s/f.

The upgrade in s/f will come with a pleasant downgrade in rents. Rockefeller Plaza--where the AP has had its headquarters since 1938--reportedly wants $60 per s/f, almost double what 450 West 33rd street owners, Max Capital Management Corp., is asking.

Dubbed the Daily News building when that paper moved there in 1994, 450 West 33rd has become something of a media center with a tenant roster that includes the New York offices of U.S. News and World Report, the public television stations WNET and PBS. The building's new media theme differs markedly from its quasi-industrial roots.

"About ten years ago, this building began maturing into what it has become today," said Brian Robin, director of asset management at Max Capital. "What made this building ideal for industrial uses, 16 foot ceilings and massive floor plates, is exactly what's making it ideal for huge media tenants like the AP."

Mark Lauzon, director of leasing, felt that the AP's move could trigger a general exodus of other media companies in Rockefeller Center who enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the media giant into the Hudson Yards neighborhood.

"There are some European and Japanese agencies who enjoyed the benefit of being in close quarters with the Associated Press and I think there's a good chance they could move as well to stay close," he said. "There are some vacant floors in 450 West 33rd which are going to generate tremendous interest with a tenant like the AP in the building."