Reckson recognized with annual development award.

Reckson Associates Realty Corp. (NYSE: RA) was recently recognized by the membership of the Association for a Better Long Island (ABLI) and the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island (CIBS) at its annual real estate gala.

Reckson Associates was bestowed with the "Developer of the Year" award for its development project for First Data Corporation at 1307 Walt Whitman Road in Melville, New York. Over 500 professionals attended the black tie event, which was held at the Melville Marriott.

"It is a great honor to accept this distinguished award from ABLI-CIBS," stated Scott Rechler, president and CEO of Reckson Associates.

"Every aspect of this project at 1307 Walt Whitman Road represents a classic real estate transaction. The sale of this site to First Data Corporation and the development of this facility added fuel to the Long Island economy. We congratulate everyone at Reckson, as well as the town and county, who met the challenges of this project and made it an overall success. It was a win-win for First Data Corporation and for the region as a whole."

Comprising 19.3 acres, 1307 Walt Whitman Road was acquired by Reckson Associates in 1997. At the time, the site was in a highly strategic location, yet underutilized. In 2000, Reckson embarked upon a single-tenant campaign, marketing the site as a unique build-to-suit opportunity in an effort to revitalize the local business sector, which was at the time, experiencing the trend of established businesses abandoning Long Island. Signage at 1307 Walt Whitman Road announced, "We'll Name The Building For You."

In May of 2001, Cushman & Wakefield brought First Data Corporation, one of the largest merchant processors in the world and a Fortune 500 company, which was looking to consolidate its regional operations to the New York-Metro area, to the site.

1307 Walt Whitman Road was then redesigned with the building reconfigured and all approvals obtained to meet the development and time requirements of First Data Corporation. During lease negotiations, First Data reached a corporate decision to purchase rather than lease this property. To comply with this requirement, every division of Reckson Associates including leasing, planning and development, investments, architecture, constructing and marketing all worked diligently together to meet First Data's needs. The level of expertise demonstrated by Reckson further strengthened First Data's confidence in Reckson's ability to finalize negotiations and execute delivery.

In February 2003, First Data Corporation acquired the site from Reckson Associates and in June of last year, Reckson Associates broke ground for the development of a three-story, 195,000-square-foot regional headquarters facility for the company.